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HISTORY 


ALEXANDER  THE   GREAT, 


BY   JACOB   ABBOTT. 


ftj)  JSnjjrabfnfls. 


NEW    Y  O  It  K 


HARPER   &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

82   CLIFF    STREET. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty-eight,  by 

Harper  &  Brothers, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


The  history  of  the  life  of  every  individual 
who  has,  for  any  reason,  attracted  extensively 
the  attention  of  mankind,  has  been  written  in 
a  great  variety  of  ways  by  a  multitude  of  au- 
thors, and  persons  sometimes  wonder  why  we 
should  have  so  many  different  accounts  of  the 
same  thing.  The  reason  is,  that  each  one  of 
these  accounts  is  intended  for  a  different  set  of 
readers,  who  read  with  ideas  and  purposes  wide- 
ly dissimilar  from  each  other.  Among  the 
twenty  millions  of  people  in  the  United  States, 
there  are  perhaps  two  millions,  between  the  ages 
of  fifteen  and  twenty-five,  who  wish  to  become 
acquainted,  in  general,  with  the  leading  events 
in  the  history  of  the  Old  World,  and  of  ancient 
times,  but  who,  coming  upon  the  stage  in  this 
land  and  at  this  period,  have  ideas  and  concep- 
tions so  widely  different  from  those  of  other  na- 
tions and  of  other  times,  that  a  mere  republica- 


viii  Preface. 

tion  of  existing  accounts  is  not  what  they  re- 
quire. The  story  must  be  told  expressly  for 
them.  The  things  that  are  to  be  explained, 
the  points  that  are  to  be  brought  out,  the  com- 
parative degree  of  prominence  to  be  given  to 
the  various  particulars,  will  all  be  different,  on 
account  of  the  difference  in  the  situation,  the 
ideas,  and  the  objects  of  these  new  readers, 
compared  with  those  of  the  various  other  classes 
of  readers  which  former  authors  have  had  in 
view.  It  is  for  this  reason,  and  with  this  view, 
that  the  present  series  of  historical  narratives  is 
presented  to  the  public.  The  author,  having 
had  some  opportunity  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  position,  the  ideas,  and  the  intellect- 
ual wants  of  those  whom  he  addresses,  presents 
the  result  of  his  labors  to  them,  with  the  hope 
that  it  may  be  found  successful  in  accomplish- 
ing its  design. 


C  0  N  T  E  N  T  S. 


Chapter  pag0 

i.  his  childhood  and   youth 13 

ii.  beginning  of  his  reign 36 

iii.  the  reaction 57 

iv.  crossing  the  hellespont 78 

v.  campaign  in  asia  minor 103 

vi.  defeat  of  darius „ 128 

vii.  the  siege  of  tyre 147 

viii.  alexander  in  egypt 169 

ix.  the  great  victory 189 

x.  the  death  of  darius 213 

xi.  deterioration  of  character 234 

xii.  Alexander's  end 25.1 


ENGRAVINGS 


MAP.       EXPEDITION    OF    ALEXANDER F 'rOTltispiece. 

ALEXANDER    AND    BUCEPHALUS 27 

MAP    OF    MACEDON    AND    GREECE 48 

MAP    OF    MACEDON   AND    GREECE 58 

MAP    OF    THE    PLAIN    OF    TROY 88 

PARIS    AND    HELEN 94 

ACHILLES 97 

MAP    OF   THE    GRANICUS. 104 

THE    BATHING    IN    THE    RIVER    CYDNUS 124 

MAP    OF    THE    PLAIN    OF    ISSUS 134 

THE    SIEGE    OF    TYRE 157 

THE    FOCUS 185 

THE    CALTROP 197 

ALEXANDER    AT     THE    PASS    OF    SUSA 211 

PROPOSED    IMPROVEMENT    OF    MOUNT    ATHOS 261 


ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT, 

Chapter    I. 
His    Childhood    and   Youth. 

The  briefness  of  Alexander's  career.  His  brilliant  exploits. 

ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT  died  when 
he  was  quite  young.  He  was  but  thirty- 
two  years  of  age  when  he  ended  his  career,  and 
as  he  was  about  twenty  when  he  commenced 
it,  it  was  only  for  a  period  of  twelve  years  that 
he  was  actually  engaged  in  performing  the  work 
of  his  life.  Napoleon  was  nearly  three  times  as 
long  on  the  great  field  of  human  action. 

Notwithstanding  the  briefness  of  Alexander's 
career,  he  ran  through,  during  that  short  peri- 
od, a  very  brilliant  series  of  exploits,  which 
were  so  bold,  so  romantic,  and  which  led  him 
into  such  adventures  in  scenes  of  the  greatest 
magnificence  and  splendor,  that  all  the  world 
looked  on  with  astonishment  then,  and  mankind 
have  continued  to  read  the  story  since,  from 
age  to  age,  with  the  greatest  interest  and  at- 
tention. 


14       Alexander    the    Great.  [B,C.  356. 

Character  of  Alexander.  Mental  and  physical  qualities. 

The  secret  of  Alexander's  success  was  his 
character.  He  possessed  a  certain  combination 
of  mental  and  personal  attractions,  which  in  ev- 
ery age  gives  to  those  who  exhibit  it  a  mysteri- 
ous and  almost  unbounded  ascendency  over  all 
within  their  influence.  Alexander  was  charac- 
terized by  these  qualities  in  a  very  remarkable 
degree.  He  was  finely  formed  in  person,  and 
very  prepossessing  in  his  manners.  He  was 
active,  athletic,  and  full  of  ardor  and  enthusi- 
asm in  all  that  he  did.  At  the  same  time,  he 
was  calm,  collected,  and  considerate  in  emer- 
gencies requiring  caution,  and  thoughtful  and 
far-seeing  in  respect  to  the  bearings  and  conse- 
quences of  his  acts.  He  formed  strong  attach- 
ments, was  grateful  for  kindnesses  shown  to 
him,  considerate  in  respect  to  the  feelings  of  all 
who  were  connected  with  him  in  any  way,  faith- 
ful to  his  friends,  and  generous  toward  his  foes. 
In  a  word,  he  had  a  noble  character,  though  he 
devoted  its  energies  unfortunately  to  conquest 
and  war.  He  lived,  in  fact,  in  an  age  when 
great  personal  and  mental  powers  had  scarcely 
any  other  field  for  their  exercise  than  this.  He 
entered  upon  his  career  with  great  ardor,  and 
the  position  in  which  he  was  placed  gave  him  the 
opportunity  to  art  in  it  with  prodigious  effect. 


BiC.  356.]  Childhood    and    Youth.  15 

Character  of  the  Asiatic  and  European  civilization. 

There  were  several  circumstances  combined, 
in  the  situation  in  which  Alexander  was  placed, 
to  afford  him  a  great  opportunity  for  the  exer- 
cise of  his  vast  powers.  His  native  country 
was  on  the  confines  of  Europe  and  Asia.  Now 
Europe  and  Asia  were,  in  those  days,  as  now, 
marked  and  distinguished  by  two  vast  masses 
of  social  and  civilized  life,  widely  dissimilar  from 
each  other.  The  Asiatic  side  was  occupied  by 
the  Persians,  the  Medes,  and  the  Assyrians. 
The  European  side  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
They  were  separated  from  each  other  by  the 
waters  of  the  Hellespont,  the  iEgean  Sea,  and 
the  Mediterranean,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  map. 
These  waters  constituted  a  sort  of  natural  bar- 
rier, which  kept  the  two  races  apart.  The 
races  formed,  accordingly,  two  vast  organiza- 
tions, distinct  and  widely  different  from  each 
other,  and  of  course  rivals  and  enemies. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  Asiatic  or  Eu- 
ropean civilization  was  the  highest.  The  two 
were  so  different  that  it  is  difficult  to  compare 
them.  On  the  Asiatic  side  there  was  wealth, 
luxury,  and  splendor  ;  on  the  European,  ener- 
gy, genius,  and  force.  On  the  one  hand  were 
vast  cities,  splendid  palaces,  and  gardens  which 
were  the  wonder  of  the  world  :    on  the  other, 


10       Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  356. 

Composition  of  Asiatic  and  European  armies. 

strong  citadels,  military  roads  and  bridges,  and 
compact  and  well-defended  towns.  The  Per- 
sians had  enormous  armies,  perfectly  provided 
for,  with  beautiful  tents,  horses  elegantly  ca- 
parisoned, arms  and  munitions  of  war  of  the 
finest  workmanship,  and  officers  magnificently 
dressed,  and  accustomed  to  a  life  of  luxury  and 
splendor.  The  Greeks  and  Romans,  on  the 
other  hand,  prided  themselves  on  their  compact 
bodies  of  troops,  inured  to  hardship  and  thor- 
oughly disciplined.  Their  officers  gloried  not 
in  luxury  and  parade,  but  in  the  courage,  the 
steadiness,  and  implicit  obedience  of  their  troops, 
and  in  their  own  science,  skill,  and  powers  of 
military  calculation.  Thus  there  was  a  great 
difference  in  the  whole  system  of  social  and  mil- 
itary organization  in  these  two  quarters  of  the 
globe. 

Now  Alexander  was  born  the  heir  to  the 
throne  of  one  of  the  Grecian  kingdoms.  He 
possessed,  in  a  very  remarkable  degree,  the  ener- 
gy, and  enterprise,  and  military  skill  so  charac- 
teristic of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  He  organ- 
ized armies,  crossed  the  boundary  between  Eu- 
rope and  Asia,  and  spent  the  twelve  years  of 
his  career  in  a  most  triumphant  military  incur- 
sion into  the  very  center  and  seat  of  Asiatic 


B.C.  356.]  Childhood   and    Youth.         17 

King  Philip.  Extent  of  Macedon.  Olympias. 

power,  destroying  the  Asiatic  armies,  conquer- 
ing the  most  splendid  cities,  defeating  or  taking 
captive  the  kings,  and  princes,  and  generals 
that  opposed  his  progress.  The  whole  world 
looked  on  with  wonder  to  see  such  a  course  of 
conquest,  pursued  so  successfully  by  so  young 
a  man,  and  with  so  small  an  army,  gaining 
continual  victories,  as  it  did,  over  such  vast 
numbers  of  foes,  and  making  conquests  of  such 
accumulated  treasures  of  wealth  and  splendor. 
The  name  of  Alexander's  father  was  Philip. 
The  kingdom  over  which  he  reigned  was  called 
Macedon.  Macedon  was  in  the  northern  part 
of  Greece.  It  was  a  kingdom  about  twice  as 
large  as  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  one 
third  as  large  as  the  State  of  New  York.  The 
name  of  Alexander's  mother  was  Olympias. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  the  King  of  Epirus, 
which  was  a  kingdom  somewhat  smaller  than 
Macedon,  and  lying  westward  of  it.  Both 
Macedon  and  Epirus  will  be  found  upon  the 
map  at  the  commencement  of  this  volume. 
Olympias  was  a  woman  of  very  strong  and  de- 
termined character.  Alexander  seemed  to  in- 
herit her  energy,  though  in  his  case  it  was  com- 
bined with  other  qualities  of  a  more  attractive 
character,  which  his  mother  did  not  possess. 
B 


18       Alexander    t ii  e    ( <  R  eat.  [B.C.  350. 

The  young  prince  Alexander.  Ancient  mode  of  warfare. 

He  was,  of  course,  as  the  young  prince,  a  very 
important  personage  in  his  father's  court.  Ev- 
ery one  knew  that  at  his  father's  death  he  would 
become  King  of  JMacedon,  and  he  was  conse- 
quently the  object  of  a  great  deal  of  care  and 
attention.  As  he  gradually  advanced  in  the 
years  of  his  boyhood,  it  was  observed  by  all  who 
knew  him  that  he  was  endued  with  extraor- 
dinary qualities  of  mind  and  of  character,  which 
seemed  to  indicate,  at  a  very  early  age,  his  fu- 
ture greatness. 

Although  he  was  a  prince,  he  was  not  brought 
up  in  habits  of  luxury  and  effeminacy.  This 
would  have  been  contrary  to  all  the  ideas  which 
were  entertained  by  the  Greeks  in  those  days. 
They  had  then  no  fire-arms,  so  that  in  battle 
the  combatants  could  not  stand  quietly,  as  they 
can  now,  at  a  distance  from  the  enemy,  coolly 
discharging  musketry  or  cannon.  In  ancient 
battles  the  soldiers  rushed  toward  each  other, 
and  fought  hand  to  hand,  in  close  combat,  with 
swords,  or  spears,  or  other  weapons  requiring 
great  personal  strength,  so  that  headlong  brav- 
ery and  muscular  force  were  the  qualities  which 
generally  carried  the  day. 

The  duties  of  officers,  too,  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, were  very  different  then  from  what  they  are 


B.C.  356.]  Childhood   and    Youth.  19 

Ancient  and  modern  military  officers.  Alexander's  nurse. 

now.  An  officer  now  must  be  calm,  collected, 
and  quiet.  His  business  is  to  plan,  to  calculate, 
to  direct,  and  arrange.  He  has  to  do  this  some- 
times, it  is  true,  in  circumstances  of  the  most 
imminent  danger,  so  that  he  must  be  a  man 
of  great  self-possession  and  of  undaunted  cour- 
age. But  there  is  very  little  occasion  for  him 
to  exert  any  great  physical  force. 

In  ancient  times,  however,  the  great  busi- 
ness of  the  officers,  certainly  in  all  the  subordi- 
nate grades,  was  to  lead  on  the  men,  and  set 
them  an  example  by  performing  themselves 
deeds  in  which  their  own  great  personal  prow- 
ess was  displayed.  Of  course  it  was  consider- 
ed extremely  important  that  the  child  destined 
to  be  a  general  should  become  robust  and  pow- 
erful in  constitution  from  his  earliest  years,  and 
that  he  should  be  inured  to  hardship  and  fa- 
tigue. In  the  early  part  of  Alexander's  life  this 
was  the  main  object  of  attention. 

The  name  of  the  nurse  who  had  charge  of 
our  hero  in  his  infancy  was  Lannice.  She  did 
all  in  her  power  to  give  strength  and  hardihood 
to  his  constitution,  while,  at  the  same  time,  she 
treated  him  with  kindness  and  gentleness. 
Alexander  acquired  a  strong  affection  for  her, 
and  he  treated  her  with  sreat  consideration  as 


20       Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  350. 

Alexander's  education.  Lysimachus.  Ilomer. 

long  as  he  lived.  He  had  a  governor,  also,  in 
his  early  years,  named  Leonnatus,  who  had  the 
general  charge  of  his  education.  As  soon  as  he 
was  old  enough  to  learn,  they  appointed  him  a 
preceptor  also,  to  teach  him  such  branches  as 
were  generally  taught  to  young  princes  in  those 
days.  The  name  of  this  preceptor  was  Lysim- 
achus. 

They  had  then  no  printed  books,  but  there 
were  a  few  writings  on  parchment  rolls  which 
young  scholars  were  taught  to  read.  Some  of 
these  writings  were  treatises  on  philosophy,  oth- 
ers were  romantic  histories,  narrating  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  heroes  of  those  days — of  course,  with 
much  exaggeration  and  embellishment.  There 
were  also  some  poems,  still  more  romantic  than 
the  histories,  though  generally  on  the  same 
themes.  The  greatest  productions  of  this  kind 
were  the  writings  of  Homer,  an  ancient  poet 
who  lived  and  wrote  four  or  five  hundred  years 
before  Alexander's  day.  The  young  Alexander 
was  greatly  delighted  with  Homer's  tales.  These 
tales  are  narrations  of  the  exploits  and  adven- 
tures of  certain  great  warriors  at  the  siege  of 
Troy — a  siege  which  lasted  ten  years — and  they 
are  written  with  so  much  beauty  and  force,  they 
contain  such  admirable  delineations  of  charac- 


B.C.  350.]  Childhood    and   Youth.  21 

Aristotle.  Alexander's  copy  of  Homer. 

ter,  and  such  graphic  and  vivid  descriptions  of 
romantic  adventures,  and  picturesque  and  strik- 
ing scenes,  that  they  have  been  admired  in  every 
age  by  all  who  have  learned  to  understand  the 
language  in  which  they  are  written. 

Alexander  could  understand  them  very  easily, 
as  they  were  written  in  his  mother  tongue.  He 
was  greatly  excited  by  the  narrations  them- 
selves, and  pleased  with  the  flowing  smoothness 
of  the  verse  in  which  the  tales  were  told.  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  course  of  education  he  was 
placed  under  the  charge  of  Aristotle,  who  was 
one  of  the  most  eminent  philosophers  of  ancient 
times.  Aristotle  had  a  beautiful  copy  of  Ho- 
mer's poems  prepared  expressly  for  Alexander, 
taking  great  pains  to  have  it  transcribed  with 
perfect  correctness,  ^and  in  the  most  elegant 
manner.  Alexander  carried  this  copy  with  him 
in  all  his  campaigns.  Some  years  afterward, 
when  he  was  obtaining  conquests  over  the  Per- 
sians, he  took,  among  the  spoils  of  one  of  his  vic- 
tories, a  very  beautiful  and  costly  casket,  which 
King  Darius  had  used  for  his  jewelry  or  for  some 
other  rich  treasures.  Alexander  determined  to 
make  use  of  this  box  as  a  depository  for  his  beau- 
tiful copy  of  Homer,  and  he  always  carried  it 
with  him,  thus  protected,  in  all  his  subsequent 
campaigns. 


22      Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  350. 

Alexander's  energy  and  ambition.  The  Persian  embassadors. 

Alexander  was  full  of  energy  and  spirit,  but  he 
was,  at  the  same  time,  like  all  who  ever  become 
truly  great,  of  a  reflective  and  considerate  turn 
of  mind.  He  was  very  fond  of  the  studies  which 
Aristotle  led  him  to  pursue,  although  they  were 
of  a  very  abstruse  and  difficult  character.  He 
made  great  progress  in  metaphysical  philosophy 
and  mathematics,  by  which  means  his  powers 
of  calculation  and  his  judgment  were  greatly 
improved. 

He  early  evinced  a  great  degree  of  ambition. 
His  father  Philip  was  a  powerful  warrior,  and 
made  many  concmests  in  various  parts  of  Greece, 
though  he  did  not  cross  into  Asia.  When  news 
of  Philip's  victories  came  into  Macedon,  all  the 
rest  of  the  court  would  be  filled  with  rejoicing 
and  delight ;  but  Alexander,  on  such  occasions, 
looked  thoughtful  and  disappointed,  and  com- 
plained that  his  father  would  conquer  every 
country,  and  leave  him  nothing  to  do. 

At  one  time  some  embassadors  from  the  Per- 
sian court  arrived  in  Macedon  when  Philip  was 
away.  These  embassadors  saw  Alexander,  of 
course,  and  had  opportunities  to  converse  with 
him.  They  expected  that  he  would  be  interest- 
ed in  hearing  about  the  splendors,  and  pomp, 
and  parade   of  the  Persian   monarchy.     They 


B.C.  340.]  Childhood    and    Youth.         23 

Stories  of  the  embassadors.  Maturity  of  Alexander's  mind. 

had  stories  to  tell  him  about  the  famous  hang- 
ing gardens,  which  were  artificially  constructed 
in  the  most  magnificent  maimer,  on  arches  rais- 
ed high  in  the  air ;  and  about  a  vine  made  of 
gold,  with  all  sorts  of  precious  stones  upon  it  in- 
stead of  fruit,  which  was  wrought  as  an  orna- 
ment over  the  throne  on  which  the  King  of  Per- 
sia often  gave  audience  ;  of  the  splendid  palaces 
and  vast  cities  of  the  Persians ;  and  the  ban- 
quets, and  fetes,  and  magnificent  entertain- 
ments and  celebrations  which  they  used  to  have 
there.  They  found,  however,  to  their  surprise, 
that  Alexander  was  not  interested  in  hearing: 

a 

about  any  of  these  things.  He  would  always 
turn  the  conversation  from  them  to  inquire 
about  the  geographical  position  of  the  different 
Persian  countries,  the  various  routes  leading 
into  the  interior,  the  organization  of  the  Asiat- 
ic armies,  their  system  of  military  tactics,  and, 
especially,  the  character  and  habits  of  Artax- 
erxes,  the  Persian  king. 

The  embassadors  were  very  much  surprised 
at  such  evidences  of  maturity  of  mind,  and  of 
far-seeing  and  reflective  powers  on  the  part  of 
the  young  prince.  They  could  not  help  com- 
paring him  with  Artaxerxes.  "  Alexander," 
said  they,  "  is  great,  while  our  king  is  only 


24      Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  o40. 

Secret  of  Alexander's  success.  The  story  of  Bucephalus. 

rich."  The  truth  of  the  judgment  which  these 
embassadors  thus  formed  in  respect  to  the  qual- 
ities of  the  young  Macedonian,  compared  with 
those  held  in  highest  estimation  on  the  Asiatic 
side,  was  fully  confirmed  in  the  subsequent 
stages  of  Alexander's  career. 

In  fact,  this  combination  of  a  calm  and  cal- 
culating thoughtfulness,  with  the  ardor  and  en- 
ergy which  formed  the  basis  of  his  character, 
was  one  great  secret  of  Alexander's  success. 
The  story  of  Bucephalus,  his  famous  horse,  il- 
lustrates this  in  a  very  striking  manner.  This 
animal  was  a  war-horse  of  very  spirited  charac- 
ter, which  had  been  sent  as  a  present  to  Philip 
while  Alexander  was  young.  They  took  the 
horse  out  into  one  of  the  parks  connected  with 
the  palace,  and  the  king,  together  with  many 
of  his  courtiers,  went  out  to  view  him.  The 
horse  pranced  about  in  a  very  furious  manner, 
and  seemed  entirely  unmanageable.  No  one 
dared  to  mount  him.  Philip,  instead  of  being 
gratified  at  the  present,  was  rather  disposed  to 
be  displeased  that  they  had  sent  him  an  animal 
of  so  fiery  and  apparently  vicious  a  nature  that 
nobody  dared  to  attempt  to  subdue  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  while  all  the  other  by- 
standers were  joining  in  the  general  condemna- 


B.C.  340.]  Childhood    a^\d    Youth.         25 

Philip  condemns  the  horse.  Alexander  desires  to  mount  him. 

tion  of  the  horse,  Alexander  stood  quietly  by, 
watching  his  motions,  and  attentively  studying 
his  character.  He  perceived  that  a  part  of  the 
difficulty  was  caused  by  the  agitations  which 
the  horse  experienced  in  so  strange  and  new  a 
scene,  and  that  he  appeared,  also,  to  be  some- 
what frightened  by  his  own  shadow,  which  hap- 
pened at  that  time  to  be  thrown  very  strongly 
and  distinctly  upon  the  ground.  He  saw  other 
indications,  also,  that  the  high  excitement  which 
the  horse  felt  was  not  viciousness,  but  the  ex- 
cess of  noble  and  generous  impulses.  It  was 
courage,  ardor,  and  the  consciousness  of  great 
nervous  and  muscular  power. 

Philip  had  decided  that  the  horse  was  useless, 
and  had  given  orders  to  have  him  sent  back  to 
Thessaly,  whence  he  came.  Alexander  was 
very  much  concerned  at  the  prospect  of  losing 
so  fine  an  animal.  He  begged  his  father  to  al- 
low him  to  make  the  experiment  of  mounting 
him.  Philip  at  first  refused,  thinking  it  very 
presumptuous  for  such  a  youth  to  attempt  to 
subdue  an  animal  so  vicious  that  all  his  experi- 
enced horsemen  and  grooms  condemned  him ; 
however,  he  at  length  consented.  Alexander 
went  up  to  the  horse  and  took  hold  of  his  bridle. 
He  patted  him  upon  the  neck,  and  soothed  him 


26       Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  340. 

Bucephalus  calmed.  An  exciting  ride. 

with  his  voice,  showing,  at  the  same  time,  by 
his  easy  and  unconcerned  manner,  that  he  was 
not  in  the  least  afraid  of  him.  A  spirited  horse 
knows  immediately  when  any  one  approaches 
him  in  a  timid  or  cautious  manner.  He  appears 
to  look  with  contempt  on  such  a  master,  and  to 
determine  not  to  submit  to  him.  On  the  con- 
trary, horses  seem  to  love  to  yield  obedience  to 
man,  when  the  individual  who  exacts  the  obe- 
dience possesses  those  qualities  of  coolness  and 
courage  which  their  instincts  enable  them  to  ap- 
preciate. 

At  any  rate,  Bucephalus  was  calmed  and  sub- 
dued by  the  presence  of  Alexander.  He  allow- 
ed himself  to  be  caressed.  Alexander  turned 
his  head  in  such  a  direction  as  to  prevent  his 
seeing  his  shadow.  He  quietly  and  gently  laid 
off  a  sort  of  cloak  which  he  wore,  and  sprang 
upon  the  horse's  back.  Then,  instead  of  attempt- 
ing to  restrain  him,  and  worrying  and  checking 
him  by  useless  efforts  to  hold  him  in,  he  gave 
him  the  rein  freely,  and  animated  and  encour- 
aged him  with  his  voice,  so  that  the  horse  flew 
across  the  plains  at  the  top  of  his  speed,  the  king 
and  the  courtiers  looking  on,  at  first  with  fear 
and  trembling,  but  soon  afterward  with  feelings 
of  the  greatest  admiration  and  pleasure.     After 


>  My,  ,.»  ■  < 


B.C. 340.]  Childhood   and    Youth.         29 

Sagacity  of  Bucephalus.  Becomes  Alexander's  favorite. 

the  horse  had  satisfied  himself  with  his  run  it 
was  easy  to  rein  him  in,  and  Alexander  return- 
ed with  him  in  safety  to  the  king.  The  courtiers 
overwhelmed  him  with  their  praises  and  congrat- 
ulations. Philip  commended  him  very  highly : 
he  told  him  that  he  deserved  a  larger  kingdom 
than  Macedon  to  govern. 

Alexander's  judgment  of  the  true  character 
of  the  horse  proved  to  be  correct.  He  became 
very  tractable  and  docile,  yielding  a  ready  sub- 
mission to  his  master  in  every  thing.  He  would 
kneel  upon  his  fore  legs  at  Alexander's  com- 
mand, in  order  that  he  might  mount  more  eas- 
ily. Alexander  retained  him  for  a  long  time, 
and  made  him  his  favorite  war  horse.  A  great 
many  stories  are  related  by  the  historians  of 
those  days  of  his  sagacity  and  his  feats  of  war. 
Whenever  he  was  equipped  for  the  field  with 
his  military  trappings,  he  seemed  to  be  highly 
elated  with  pride  and  pleasure,  and  at  such 
times  he  would  not  allow  any  one  but  Alex- 
ander to  mount  him. 

What  became  of  him  at  last  is  not  certainly 
known.  There  are  two  accounts  of  his  end. 
One  is,  that  on  a  certain  occasion  Alexander 
got  carried  too  far  into  the  midst  of  his  enemies, 
on  a  battle  field,  and  that,  after  fighting  desper- 


30      Alexander  the    Great.  [B.C.  338. 

Fate  of  Bucephalus.  Alexander  made  regent. 

ately  for  some  time,  Bucephalus  made  the  most 
extreme  exertions  to  carry  him  away.  He  was 
severely  wounded  again  and  again,  and  though 
his  strength  was  nearly  gone,  he  would  not  stop, 
but  pressed  forward  till  he  had  carried  his  mas- 
ter away  to  a  place  of  safety,  and  that  then  he 
dropped  down  exhausted,  and  died.  It  may  be, 
however,  that  he  did  not  actually  die  at  this 
time,  but  slowly  recovered;  for  some  historians 
relate  that  he  lived  to  be  thirty  years  old — 
which  is  quite  an  old.  age  for  a  horse — and  that 
he  then  died.  Alexander  caused  him  to  be 
buried  with  great  ceremony,  and  built  a  small 
city  upon  the  spot  in  honor  of  his  memory.  The 
name  of  this  city  was  Bucephalia. 

Alexander's  character  matured  rapidly,  and 
he  began  very  early  to  act  the  part  of  a  man. 
When  he  was  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  his  fa- 
ther, Philip,  made  him  regent  of  Macedon 
while  he  was  absent  on  a  great  military  cam- 
paign among  the  other  states  of  Greece.  With- 
out doubt  Alexander  had,  in  this  regency,  the 
counsel  and  aid  of  high  officers  of  state  of  great 
experience  and  ability.  He  acted,  however, 
himself,  in  this  high  position,  with  great  energy 
and  with  complete  success ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  with  all  that  modesty  of  deportment,  and 


B.C.  338.]  Childhood    and    Youth.         31 

Alexander's  first  battle.  Chasronea. 

that  delicate  consideration  for  the  officers  under 
him— who,  though  inferior  in  rank,  were  yet  his 
superiors  in  age  and  experience — which  his  po- 
sition rendered  proper,  but  which  few  persons 
so  young  as  he  would  have  manifested  in  cir- 
cumstances so  well  calculated  to  awaken  the 
feelings  of  vanity  and  elation. 

Afterward,  when  Alexander  was  about  eigh- 
teen years  old,  his  father  took  him  with  him  on 
a  campaign  toward  the  south,  during  which 
Philip  fought  one  of  his  great  battles  at  Chser- 
onea,  in  Boeotia.  In  the  arrangements  for  this 
battle,  Philip  gave  the  command  of  one  of  the 
wings  of  the  army  to  Alexander,  while  he  re- 
served the  other  for  himself.  He  felt  some  so- 
licitude in  giving  his  young  son  so  important  a 
charge,  but  he  endeavored  to  guard  against  the 
danger  of  an  unfortunate  result  by  putting  the 
ablest  generals  on  Alexander's  side,  while  he  re- 
served those  on  whom  he  could  place  less  reli- 
ance for  his  own.  Thus  organized,  the  army 
went  into  battle. 

Philip  soon  ceased  to  feel  any  solicitude  for 
Alexander's  part  of  the  duty.  Boy  as  he  was, 
the  young  prince  acted  with  the  utmost  bravery, 
coolness,  and  discretion.  The  wing  which  he 
commanded  was  victorious,  and  Philip  was  oblig- 


32      Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  338. 

Alexander's  impetuosity.  Philip  repudiates  Olympias. 

ed  to  urge  himself  and  the  officers  with  him  to 
greater  exertions,  to  avoid  being  outdone  by  his 
son.  In  the  end  Philip  was  completely  victori- 
ous, and  the  result  of  this  great  battle  was  to 
make  his  power  paramount  and  supreme  over 
all  the  states  of  Greece. 

Notwithstanding,  however,  the  extraordina- 
ry discretion  and  wisdom  which  characterized 
the  mind  of  Alexander  in  his  early  years,  he 
was  often  haughty  and  headstrong,  and  in 
cases  where  his  pride  or  his  resentment  were 
aroused,  he  was  sometimes  found  very  impetu- 
ous and  uncontrollable.  His  mother  Olympias 
was  of  a  haughty  and  imperious  temper,  and 
she  quarreled  with  her  husband,  King  Philip ; 
or,  perhaps,  it  ought  rather  to  be  said  that  he 
quarreled  with  her.  Each  is  said  to  have  been 
unfaithful  to  the  other,  and,  after  a  bitter  con- 
tention, Philip  repudiated  his  wife  and  married 
another  lady.  Among  the  festivities  held  on 
the  occasion  of  this  marriage,  there  was  a  great 
banquet,  at  which  Alexander  was  present,  and 
an  incident  occurred  which  strikingly  illustrates 
the  impetuosity  of  his  character. 

One  of  the  guests  at  this  banquet,  in  saying 
something  complimentary  to  the  new  queen, 
made  use  of  expressions  which  Alexander  con- 


B.C.33S.]  Childhood    and    Youth.  So 


Alexander's  violent  temper.  Philip's  attempt  on  his  son. 

sidered  as  in  disparagement  of  the  character  of 
his  mother  and  of  his  own  birth.  His  anger  was 
immediately  aroused.  He  threw  the  cup  from 
which  he  had  been  drinking  at  the  offenders' 
head.  Attalus,  for  this  was  his  name,  threw 
his  cup  at  Alexander  in  return ;  the  guests  at 
the  table  where  they  were  sitting  rose,  and  a 
scene  of  uproar  and  confusion  ensued. 

Philip,  incensed  at  such  an  interruption  of 
the  order  and  harmony  of  the  wedding  feast, 
drew  his  sword  and  rushed  toward  Alexander, 
but  by  some  accident  he  stumbled  and  fell  upon 
the  floor.  Alexander  looked  upon  his  fallen 
father  with  contempt  and  scorn,  and  exclaimed, 
"  What  a  fine  hero  the  states  of  Greece  have 
to  lead  their  armies — a  man  that  can  not  get 
across  the  floor  without  tumbling  down."  He 
then  turned  away  and  left  the  palace.  Imme- 
diately afterward  he  joined  his  mother  Olympi- 
as,  and  went  away  with  her  to  her  native  coun- 
try, Epirus,  where  the  mother  and  son  remain- 
ed for  a  time  in  a  state  of  open  quarrel  with 
the  husband  and  father. 

In  the  mean  time  Philip  had  been  planning 

a  great  expedition  into  Asia.     He  had  arranged 

the  affairs  of  his  own  kingdom,  and  had  formed 

a  strong  combination  among  the  states  of  Greece, 

C 


34  A  L  i:  X  A  N  D  E  H  T  II  E  G  R  E  A  T.  [  B.C.  336. 
Philip's  power.  His  plans  of  couquest. 

by  which  powerful  armies  had  been  raised,  and 
lie  had  been  designated  to  command  them.  His 
mind  was  very  intently  engaged  in  this  vast 
enterprise.  He  was  in  the  flower  of  his  years, 
and  at  the  height  of  his  power.  His  own  king- 
dom was  in  a  very  prosperous  and  thriving  con- 
dition, and  his  ascendency  over  the  other  king- 
doms and  states  on  the  European  side  had  been 
fully  established.  He  was  excited  with  ambi- 
tion, and  full  of  hope.  He  was  proud  of  his 
son  Alexander,  and  was  relying  upon  his  effi- 
cient aid  in  his  schemes  of  conquest  and  ag- 
grandizement. He  had  married  a  youthful  and 
beautiful  bride,  and  was  surrounded  by  scenes 
of  festivity,  congratulation,  and  rejoicing.  He 
was  looking  forward  to  a  very  brilliant  career, 
considering  all  the  deeds  that  he  had  done  and 
all  the  glory  which  he  had  acquired  as  only  the 
introduction  and  prelude  to  the  far  more  distin- 
guished and  conspicuous  part  which  he  was  in- 
tending to  perform. 

Alexander,  in  the  mean  time,  ardent  and  im- 
petuous, and  eager  for  glory  as  he  was,  looked 
upon  the  position  and  prospects  of  his  father 
with  some  envy  and  jealousy.  He  was  impa- 
tient to  be  monarch  himself.  His  taking  sides 
so  promptly  with  his  mother  in  the  domestic 


B.C.  336.]  Childhood    and    Youth.         35 


Alexander's  impatience  to  reign. 


quarrel  was  partly  owing  to  the  feeling  that  his 
father  was  a  hinderance  and  an  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  his  own  greatness  and  fame.  He  felt 
within  himself  powers  and  capacities  qualifying 
him  to  take  his  father's  place,  and  reap  for  him- 
self the  harvest  of  glory  and  power  which  seem- 
ed to  await  the  Grecian  armies  in  the  coming 
campaign.  While  his  father  lived,  however,  he 
could  be  only  a  prince ;  influential,  accomplish- 
ed, and  popular,  it  is  true,  but  still  without  any 
substantial  and  independent  power.  He  was 
restless  and  uneasy  at  the  thought  that,  as  his 
father  was  in  the  prime  and  vigor  of  manhood, 
many  long  years  must  elapse  before  he  could 
emerge  from  this  confined  and  subordinate  con- 
dition. His  restlessness  and  uneasiness  were, 
however,  suddenly  ended  by  a  very  extraordi- 
nary occurrence,  which  called  him,  with  scarce- 
ly an  hour's  notice,  to  take  his  father's  place 
upon  the  throne. 


JjG       Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  330. 

Philip  is  reconciled  to  Olympias  and  Alexander. 


Chapter    II. 
Beginning    of    his   Reign. 

ALEXANDER  was  suddenly  called  upon 
to  succeed  his  father  on  the  Macedonian 
throne,  in  the  most  unexpected  manner,  and  in 
the  midst  of  scenes  of  the  greatest  excitement 
and  agitation.    The  circumstances  were  these : 

Philip  had  felt  very  desirous,  before  setting 
out  upon  his  great  expedition  into  Asia,  to  be- 
come reconciled  to  Alexander  and  Olympias. 
He  wished  for  Alexander's  co-operation  in  his 
plans ;  and  then,  besides,  it  would  be  dangerous 
to  go  away  from  his  own  dominions  with  such 
a  son  left  behind,  in  a  state  of  resentment  and 
hostility. 

So  Philip  sent  kind  and  conciliatory  messages 
to  Olympias  and  Alexander,  who  had  gone,  it 
will  be  recollected,  to  Epirus,  where  her  friends 
resided.  The  brother  of  Olympias  was  King  of 
Epirus.  He  had  been  at  first  incensed  at  the 
indignity  which  had  been  put  upon  his  sister 
by  Philip's  treatment  of  her ;  but  Philip  now 
tried  to  appease  his  anger,  also,  by  friendly  ne- 


B.C.  336.]  Beginning   of    his   Reign.     37 

Olympias  and  Alexander  returned.  The  great  wedding. 

gotiations  and  messages.  At  last  he  arranged 
a  marriage  between  this  King  of  Epirus  and 
one  of  his  own  daughters,  and  this  completed 
the  reconciliation.  Olympias  and  Alexander 
returned  to  Macedon,  and  great  preparations 
were  made  for  a  very  splendid  wedding. 

Philip  wished  to  make  this  wedding  not 
merely  the  means  of  confirming  his  reconcilia- 
tion with  his  former  wife  and  son,  and  establish- 
ing friendly  relations  with  the  King  of  Epirus : 
he  also  prized  it  as  an  occasion  for  paying  mark- 
ed and  honorable  attention  to  the  princes  and 
great  generals  of  the  other  states  of  Greece.  He 
consequently  made  his  preparations  on  a  very 
extended  and  sumptuous  scale,  and  sent  invita- 
tions to  the  influential  and  prominent  men  far 
and  near. 

These  great  men f on  the  other  hand,  and  all 
the  other  public  authorities  in  the  various  Gre- 
cian states,  sent  compliments,  congratulations, 
and  presents  to  Philip,  each  seeming  ambitious 
to  contribute  his  share  to  the  splendor  of  the 
celebration.  They  were  not  wholly  disinterest- 
ed in  this,  it  is  true.  As  Philip  had  been  made 
commander-in-chief  of  the  Grecian  armies  which 
were  about  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  Asia, 
and  as,  of  course,  his  influence  and  power  in 


38      Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  336. 

Preparations  for  the  wedding.  Costly  presents. 

all  that  related  to  that  vast  enterprise  would  be 
paramount  and  supreme  ;  and  as  all  were  am- 
bitious to  have  a  large  share  in  the  glory  of  that 
expedition,  and  to  participate,  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, in  the  power  and  in  the  renown  which 
seemed  to  be  at  Philip's  disposal,  all  were,  of 
course,  very  anxious  to  secure  his  favor.  A 
short  time  before,  they  were  contending  against 
him  ;  but  now,  since  he  had  established  his  as- 
cendency, they  all  eagerly  joined  in  the  work 
of  magnifying  it  and  making  it  illustrious. 

Nor  could  Philip  justly  complain  of  the  hol- 
lowness  and  falseness  of  these  professions  of 
friendship.  The  compliments  and  favors  which 
he  offered  to  them  were  equally  hollow  and 
heartless.  He  wished  to  secure  their  favor  as 
a  means  of  aiding  him  up  the  steep  path  to 
fame  and  power  which  he  was  attempting  to 
climb.  They  wished  for  his,  in  order  that  he 
might,  as  he  ascended  himself,  help  them  up 
with  him.  There  was,  however,  the  greatest 
appearance  of  cordial  and  devoted  friendship. 
Some  cities  sent  him  presents  of  golden  crowns, 
beautifully  wrought,  and  of  high  cost.  Others 
dispatched  embassies,  expressing  their  good 
wishes  for  him,  and  their  confidence  in  the  suc- 
cess of  his  plans.     Athens,  the  city  which  was 


B.C.  336.]  Beginning   of   his   Reign.     39 

Celebration  of  the  wedding.  Games  and  spectacles. 

the  great  seat  of  literature  and  science  in  Greece, 
sent  a  poem,  in  which  the  history  of  the  expedi- 
tion into  Persia  was  given  by  anticipation.  In 
this  poem  Philip  was,  of  course,  triumphantly 
successful  in  his  enterprise.  He  conducted  his 
armies  in  safety  through  the  most  dangerous 
passes  and  denies  ;  he  fought  glorious  battles, 
gained  magnificent  victories,  and  possessed  him- 
self of  all  the  treasures  of  Asiatic  wealth  and 
power.  It  ought  to  be  stated,  however,  in  jus- 
tice to  the  poet,  that,  in  narrating  these  imagi- 
nary exploits,  he  had  sufficient  delicacy  to  rep- 
resent Philip  and  the  Persian  monarch  by  ficti- 
tious names. 

The  wedding  was  at  length  celebrated,  in  one 
of  the  cities  of  Macedon,  with  great  pomp  and 
splendor.  There  were  games,  and  shows,  and 
military  and  civic  spectacles  of  all  kinds  to 
amuse  the  thousands  of  spectators  that  assem- 
bled to  witness  them.  In  one  of  these  specta- 
cles they  had  a  procession  of  statues  of  the  gods. 
There  were  twelve  of  these  statues,  sculptured 
with  great  art,  and  they  were  borne  along  on 
elevated  pedestals,  with  censers,  and  incense, 
and  various  ceremonies  of  homage,  while  vast 
multitudes  of  spectators  lined  the  way.  There 
was  a  thirteenth  statue,  more  magnificent  than 


40      Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  336. 

Statues  of  the  gods.  Military  procession. 

the  other  twelve,  which  represented  Philip  him- 
self in  the  character  of  a  god. 

This  was  not,  however,  so  impious  as  it  would 
at  first  view  seem,  for  the  gods  whom  the  an- 
cients worshiped  were,  in  fact,  only  deifications 
of  old  heroes  and  kings  who  had  lived  in  early 
times,  and  had  acquired  a  reputation  for  super- 
natural powers  by  the  fame  of  their  exploits,  ex- 
aggerated in  descending  by  tradition  in  super- 
stitious times.  The  ignorant  multitude  accord- 
ingly, in  those  days,  looked  up  to  a  living  king 
with  almost  the  same  reverence  and  homage 
which  they  felt  for  their  deified  heroes ;  and 
these  deified  heroes  furnished  them  with  all  the 
ideas  they  had  of  God.  Making  a  monarch  a 
god,  therefore,  was  no  very  extravagant  flattery. 

After  the  procession  of  the  statues  passed 
along,  there  came  bodies  of  troops,  with  trum- 
pets sounding  and  banners  flying.  The  officers 
rode  on  horses  elegantly  caparisoned,  and  pranc- 
ing proudly.  These  troops  escorted  princes, 
embassadors,  generals,  and  great  officers  of 
state,  all  gorgeously  decked  in  their  robes,  and 
wearing  their  badges  and  insignia. 

At  length  King  Philip  himself  appeared  in 
the  procession.  He  had  arranged  to  have  a 
large  space  left,  in  the  middle  of  which  he  was 


B.C.  336.]   Beginning   of   his   Reign.     41 

Appearance  of  Philip.  The  scene  changed. 

to  walk.  This  was  done  in  order  to  make  his 
position  the  more  conspicuous,  and  to  mark 
more  strongly  his  own  high  distinction  above 
all  the  other  potentates  present  on  the  occasion. 
Guards  preceded  and  followed  him,  though  at 
considerable  distance,  as  has  been  already  said. 
He  was  himself  clothed  with  white  robes,  and 
his  head  was  adorned  with  a  splendid  crown. 

The  procession  was  moving  toward  a  great 
theater,  where  certain  games  and  spectacles 
were  to  be  exhibited.  The  statues  of  the  gods 
were  to  be  taken  into  the  theater,  and  placed 
in  conspicuous  positions  there,  in  the  view  of 
the  assembly,  and  then  the  procession  itself 
was  to  follow.  All  the  statues  had  entered  ex- 
cept that  of  Philip,  which  was  just  at  the  door, 
and  Philip  himself  was  advancing  in  the  midst 
of  the  space  left  for  him,  up  the  avenue  by 
which  the  theater  was  approached,  when  an  oc- 
currence took  place  by  which  the  whole  char- 
acter of  the  scene,  the  destiny  of  Alexander, 
and  the  fate  of  fifty  nations,  was  suddenly  and 
totally  changed.  It  was  this.  An  officer  of 
the  guards,  who  had  his  position  in  the  proces- 
sion near  the  king,  was  seen  advancing  impetu- 
ously toward  him,  through  the  space  which  sep- 
arated him  from  the  rest,  and,  before  the  specta- 


42      Alexander  the   Great.   [B.C. 386. 

Assassination  of  Philip.  Alexander  proclaimed  king. 

tors  had  time  even  to  wonder  what  he  was  go- 
ing to  do,  he  stabbed  him  to  the  heart.  Philip 
fell  down  in  the  street  and  died. 

A  scene  of  indescribable  tumult  and  confu- 
sion ensued.  The  murderer  was  immediately 
cut  to  pieces  by  the  other  guards.  They  found, 
however,  before  he  was  dead,  that  it  was  Pau- 
sanias,  a  man  of  high  standing  and  influence,  a 
general  officer  of  the  guards.  He  had  had  horses 
provided,  and  other  assistance  ready,  to  enable 
him  to  make  his  escape,  but  he  was  cut  down 
by  the  guards  before  he  could  avail  himself  of 
them. 

An  officer  of  state  immediately  hastened  to 
Alexander,  and  announced  to  him  his  father's 
death  and  his  own  accession  to  the  throne.  An 
assembly  of  the  leading  counselors  and  states- 
men was  called,  in  a  hasty  and  tumultuous 
manner,  and  Alexander  was  proclaimed  king 
with  prolonged  and  general  acclamations.  Al- 
exander made  a  speech  in  reply.  The  great  as- 
sembly looked  upon  his  youthful  form  and  face 
as  he  arose,  and  listened  with  intense  interest 
to  hear  what  he  had  to  say.  He  was  between 
nineteen  and  twenty  years  of  age  ;  but,  though 
thus  really  a  boy,  he  spoke  with  all  the  decision 
and  confidence  of  an  energetic  man.     He  said 


B.C.  336.]  Beginning  of  his  Reign.     43 

Alexander's  speech.  Demosthenes'  Philippics. 

that  he  should  at  once  assume  his  father's  posi- 
tion, and  carry  forward  his  plans.  He  hoped  to 
do  this  so  efficiently  that  every  thing  would  go 
directly  onward,  just  as  if  his  father  had  con- 
tinued to  live,  and  that  the  nation  would  find 
that  the  only  change  which  had  taken  place  was 
in  the  name  of  the  king. 

The  motive  which  induced  Pausanias  to  mur- 
der Philip  in  this  manner  was  never  fully  as- 
certained. There  were  various  opinions  about 
it.  One  was,  that  it  was  an  act  of  private  re- 
venge, occasioned  by  some  neglect  or  injury 
which  Pausanias  had  received  from  Philip. 
Others  thought  that  the  murder  was  instigated 
by  a  party  in  the  states  of  Greece,  who  were 
hostile  to  Philip,  and  unwilling  that  he  should 
command  the  allied  armies  that  were  about  to 
penetrate  into  Asia^  Demosthenes,  the  cele- 
brated orator,  was  Philip's  great  enemy  among 
the  Greeks.  Many  of  his  most  powerful  ora- 
tions were  made  for  the  purpose  of  arousing  his 
countrymen  to  resist  his  ambitious  plans  and 
to  curtail  his  power.  These  orations  were  call- 
ed his  Philippics,  and  from  this  origin  has  aris- 
en the  practice,  which  has  prevailed  ever  since 
that  day,  of  applying  the  term  philippics  to  de- 
note, in  general,  any  strongly  denunciatory  ha- 
rangues. 


44      Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  336. 

The  Greoks  suspected  of  the  murder.  The  Persians  also. 

Now  Demosthenes,  it  is  said,  who  was  at  this 
time  in  Athens,  announced  the  death  of  Philip 
in  an  Athenian  assembly  before  it  was  possible 
that  the  news  could  have  been  conveyed  there. 
He  accounted  for  his  early  possession  of  the  in- 
telligence by  saying  it  was  communicated  to 
him  by  some  of  the  gods.  Many  persons  have 
accordingly  supposed  that  the  plan  of  assassin- 
ating Philip  was  devised  in  Greece  ;  that  De- 
mosthenes was  a  party  to  it ;  that  Pausanias 
was  the  agent  for  carrying  it  into  execution ; 
and  that  Demosthenes  was  so  confident  of  the 
success  of  the  plot,  and  exulted  so  much  in  this 
certainty,  that  he  could  not  resist  the  tempta- 
tion of  thus  anticipating  its  announcement. 

There  were  other  persons  who  thought  that 
the  Persians  had  plotted  and  accomplished  this 
murder,  having  induced  Pausanias  to  execute 
the  deed  by  the  promise  of  great  rewards.  As 
Pausanias  himself,  however,  had  been  instantly 
killed,  there  was  no  opportunity  of  gaining  any 
information  from  him  on  the  motives  of  his  con- 
duct, even  if  he  would  have  been  disposed  to  im- 
part any. 

At  all  events,  Alexander  found  himself  sud- 
denly elevated  to  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
positions  in  the  whole  political  world.     It  was 


B.C.  o'36.]   Beginning   of   his   Reig n.     45 

Alexander's  new  position.  His  designs. 

not  simply  that  he  succeeded  to  the  throne  of 
Macedon ;  even  this  would  have  been  a  lofty  po- 
sition for  so  young  a  man ;  but  Macedon  was 
a  very  small  part  of  the  realm  over  which  Philip 
had  extended  his  power.  The  ascendency  which 
he  had  acquired  over  the  whole  Grecian  empire, 
and  the  vast  arrangements  he  had  made  for  an 
incursion  into  Asia,  made  Alexander  the  object 
of  universal  interest  and  attention.  The  ques- 
tion was,  whether  Alexander  should  attempt  to 
take  his  father's  place  in  respect  to  all  this  gen- 
eral power,  and  undertake  to  sustain  and  carry 
on  his  vast  projects,  or  whether  he  should  con- 
tent himself  with  ruling,  in  quiet,  over  his  na- 
tive country  of  Macedon. 

Most  prudent  persons  would  have  advised  a 
young  prince,  under  such  circumstances,  to 
have  decided  upon  the  latter  course.  But  Alex- 
ander had  no  idea  of  bounding  his  ambition  by 
any  such  limits.  He  resolved  to  spring  at  once 
completely  into  his  father's  seat,  and  not  only  to 
possess  himself  of  the  whole  of  the  power  which 
his  father  had  acquired,  but  to  commence,  im- 
mediately, the  most  energetic  and  vigorous  ef- 
forts for  a  great  extension  of  it. 

His  first  plan  was  to  punish  his  father's  mur- 
derers.    He   caused  the  circumstances  of  the 


4G       Alexander    the   (treat.  [B.C.  336. 

Murderers  of  Philip  punished.  Alexander's  first  acts. 

case  to  be  investigated,  and  the  persons  suspect- 
ed of  having  been  connected  with  Pausanias  in 
the  plot  to  be  tried.  Although  the  designs  and 
motives  of  the  murderers  could  never  be  fully 
ascertained,  still  several  persons  were  found 
guilty  of  participating  in  it,  and  were  condemn- 
ed to  death  and  publicly  executed. 

Alexander  next  decided  not  to  make  any 
change  in  bis  father's  appointments  to  the  great 
offices  of  state,  but  to  let  all  the  departments  of 
public  affairs  go  on  in  the  same  hands  as  be- 
fore. How  sagacious  a  line  of  conduct  was 
this !  Most  ardent  and  enthusiastic  young 
men,  in  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was 
placed,  would  have  been  elated  and  vain  at  their 
elevation,  and  would  have  replaced  the  old  and 
well-tried  servants  of  the  father  with  personal 
favorites  of  their  own  age,  inexperienced  and 
incompetent,  and  as  conceited  as  themselves. 
Alexander,  however,  made  no  such  changes. 
He  continued  the  old  officers  in  command,  en- 
deavoring to  have  every  thing  go  on  just  as  if 
his  father  had  not  died. 

There  were  two  officers  in  particular  who 
were  the  ministers  on  whom  Philip  had  mainiy 
relied.  Their  names  were  Antipater  and  Par- 
menio.     Antipater  had  charge  of  the  civil,  and 


B.C.  336.]  Beginning    of    his    Reign.     47 

Parmenio.  Cities  of  Southern  Greece. 

Parmenio  of  military  affairs.  Parmenio  was  a 
very  distinguished  general.  He  was  at  this 
time  nearly  sixty  years  of  age.  Alexander  had 
great  confidence  in  his  military  powers,  and  felt 
a  strong  personal  attachment  for  him.  Parme- 
nio entered  into  the  young  king's  service  with 
great  readiness,  and  accompanied  him  through 
almost  the  whole  of  his  career.  It  seemed 
strange  to  see  men  of  such  age,  standing,  and 
experience,  obeying  the  orders  of  such  a  boy  ; 
but  there  was  something  in  the  genius,  the  pow- 
er, and  the  enthusiasm  of  Alexander's  charac- 
ter which  inspired  ardor  in  all  around  him,  and 
made  every  one  eager  to  join  his  standard  and 
to  aid  in  the  execution  of  his  plans. 

Macedon,  as  will  be  seen  on  the  following  map, 
was  in  the  northern  part  of  the  country  occupied 
by  the  Greeks,  and  the  most  powerful  states  of 
the  confederacy  and  all  the  great  and  influen- 
tial cities  were  south  of  it.  There  was  Athens, 
which  was  magnificently  built,  its  splendid  cit- 
adel crowning  a  rocky  hill  in  the  center  of  it. 
It  was  the  great  seat  of  literature,  philosophy, 
and  the  arts,  and  was  thus  a  center  of  attrac- 
tion for  all  the  civilized  world.  There  was  Cor- 
inth, which  was  distinguished  for  the  gayety 
and  pleasure  which  reigned  there.     All  possible 


48       Alexander    t h e    Urea t.  [B.C.  336. 


Map  of  Maccdon  and  Greece. 


Athens  and  Corinth. 


means  of  luxury  and  amusement  were  concen- 
trated within  its  walls.  The  lovers  of  knowl- 
edge and  of  art,  from  all  parts  of  the  earth, 
flocked  to  Athens,  while  those  in  pursuit  of 
pleasure,  dissipation,  and  indulgence  chose 
Corinth  for  their  home.  Corinth  was  beauti- 
fully situated  on  the  isthmus,  with  prospects 
of  the  sea  on  either  hand.     It  had  been  a  fa- 


B.C.  '336.]  Beginning   op    his    Reign.     49 


Thebes. 


Sparta. 


mous  city  for  a  thousand  years  in  Alexander's 
day. 

There  was  also  Thebes.     Thebes  was  farther 
north  than  Athens  and  Corinth.     It  was  situ- 
ated on  an  elevated  plain,  and  had,  like  other 
ancient  cities,  a  strong  citadel,  where  there  was 
at  this  time  a  Macedonian  garrison,  which  Phil- 
ip had  placed  there.     Thebes  was  very  wealthy 
and  powerful.     It  had  also  been  celebrated  as 
the  birth-place  of  many  poets  and  philosophers, 
and  other  eminent  men.      Among  these  was 
Pindar,  a  very  celebrated  poet  who  had  flourish- 
ed one  or  two  centuries  before  the  time  of  Alex- 
ander.    His  descendants  still  lived  in  Thebes, 
and  Alexander,  some  time  after  this,  had  occasion 
to  confer  upon  them  a  very  distinguished  honor. 
There    was    Sparta    also,   called    sometimes 
Lacedsemon.     The  inhabitants  of  this  city  were 
famed  for  their  courage,  hardihood,  and  physic- 
al strength,  and  for  the  energy  with  which  they 
devoted  themselves  to  the  work  of  war.     They 
were  nearly  all  soldiers,  and  all  the  arrange- 
ments of  the  state  and  of  society,  and  all  the 
plans  of  education,  were  designed  to  promote 
military  ambition  and  pride  among  the  officers, 
and  fierce  and  indomitable  courage  and  endur- 
ance in  the  men. 

D 


50      Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  336. 

Conquests  of  Philip.  Alexander  marches  southward. 

These  cities  and  many  others,  with  the  states 
which  were  attached  to  them,  formed  a  large, 
and  flourishing,  and  very  powerful  community, 
extending  over  all  that  part  of  Greece  which 
lay  south  of  Macedon.  Philip,  as  has  been  al- 
ready said,  had  established  his  own  ascendency 
over  all  this  region,  though  it  had  cost  him 
many  perplexing  negotiations  and  some  hard- 
fought  battles  to  do  it.  Alexander  considered 
it  somewhat  uncertain  whether  the  people  of  all 
these  states  and  cities  would  be  disposed  to  trans- 
fer readily,  to  so  youthful  a  prince  as  he,  the 
high  commission  which  his  father,  a  very  pow- 
erful monarch  and  soldier,  had  extorted  from 
them  with  so  much  difficulty.  "What  should 
he  do  in  the  case  ?  Should  he  give  up  the  ex- 
pectation of  it?  Should  he  send  embassadors 
to  them,  presenting  his  claims  to  occupy  his 
father's  place  ?  Or  should  he  not  act  at  all, 
but  wait  quietly  at  home  in  Macedon  until 
they  should  decide  the  question  ? 

Instead  of  doing  either  of  these  things,  Alex- 
ander decided  on  the  very  bold  step  of  setting 
out  himself,  at  the  head  of  an  army,  to  march 
into  southern  Greece,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
senting in  person,  and,  if  necessary,  of  enforc- 
ing his  claim  to  the  same  post  of  honor  and 


B.C.  336.]    Beginning   of   his  Reign.     51 

Pass  of  Thermopylae.  The  Arnphictyonic  Council. 

power  which  had  been  conferred  upon  his  father. 
Considering  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case, 
this  was  perhaps  one  of  the  boldest  and  most  de- 
cided steps  of  Alexander's  whole  career.  Many 
of  his  Macedonian  advisers  counseled  him  not 
to  make  such  an  attempt ;  but  Alexander  would 
not  listen  to  any  such  cautions.  He  collected 
his  forces,  and  set  forth  at  the  head  of  them. 

Between  Macedon  and  the  southern  states  of 
Greece  was  a  range  of  lofty  and  almost  impass- 
able mountains.  These  mountains  extended 
through  the  whole  interior  of  the  country,  and 
the  main  route  leading  into  southern  Greece 
passed  around  to  the  eastward  of  them,  where 
they  terminated  in  cliffs,  leaving  a  narrow  pas- 
sage between  the  cliffs  and  the  sea.  This  pass 
was  called  the  Pass^f  Thermopylae,  and  it  was 
considered  the  key  to  Greece.  There  was  a 
town  named  Anthela  near  the  pass,  on  the  out- 
ward side. 

There  was  in  those  days  a  sort  of  general  con- 
gress or  assembly  of  the  states  of  Greece,  which 
was  held  from  time  to  time,  to  decide  questions 
and  disputes  in  which  the  different  states  were 
continually  getting  involved  with  each  other. 
This  assembly  was  called  the  Arnphictyonic 
Council,  on  account,  as  is  said,  of  its  having  been 


52      Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  336. 

March  through  Thessaly.  Alexander's  traits  of  character. 

established  by  a  certain  king  named  Amphicty- 
on.  A  meeting  of  this  council  was  appointed  to 
receive  Alexander.  It  was  to  be  held  at  Ther- 
mopylae, or,  rather,  at  Anthela,  which  was  just 
without  the  pass,  and  was  the  usual  place  at 
which  the  council  assembled.  This  was  be- 
cause the  pass  was  in  an  intermediate  position 
between  the  northern  and  southern  portions  of 
Greece,  and  thus  equally  accessible  from  either. 
In  proceeding  to  the  southward,  Alexander 
had  first  to  pass  through  Thessaly,  which  was 
a  very  powerful  state  immediately  south  of 
Macedon.  He  met  with  some  show  of  resist- 
ance at  first,  but  not  much.  The  country  was 
impressed  with  the  boldness  and  decision  of 
character  manifested  in  the  taking  of  such  a 
course  by  so  young  a  man.  Then,  too,  Alex- 
ander, so  far  as  he  became  personally  known, 
made  a  very  favorable  impression  upon  every 
one.  His  manly  and  athletic  form,  his  frank 
and  open  manners,  his  spirit,  his  generosity, 
and  a  certain  air  of  confidence,  independence, 
and  conscious  superiority,  which  were  com- 
bined, as  they  always  are  in  the  case  of  true 
greatness,  with  an  unaffected  and  unassuming 
modesty — these  and  other  traits,  which  were 
obvious  to  all  who  saw  him,  in  the  person  and 


B.C.  336.]    Beginning   op   his   Reign.     53 

The  Thessalians  join  Alexander.      He  sits  in  the  Amphictycmic  Council. 

character  of  Alexander,  made  every  one  his 
friend.  Common  men  take  pleasure  in  yield- 
ing to  the  influence  and  ascendency  of  one 
whose  spirit  they  see  and  feel  stands  on  a  high- 
er eminence  and  wields  higher  powers  than 
their  own.  They  like  a  leader.  It  is  true,  they 
must  feel  confident  of  his  superiority ;  but  when 
this  superiority  stands  out  so  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly marked,  combined,  too,  with  all  the  gra- 
ces and  attractions  of  youth  and  manly  beauty, 
as  it  was  in  the  case  of  Alexander,  the  minds 
of  men  are  brought  very  easily  and  rapidly  un- 
der its  sway. 

The  Thessalians  gave  Alexander  a  very  fa- 
vorable reception.  They  expressed  a  cordial 
readiness  to  instate  him  in  the  position  which 
his  father  had  occupied.  They  joined  their  for- 
ces to  his,  and  proceeded  southward  toward  the 
Pass  of  Thermopylae . 

Here  the  great  council  was  held.  Alexander 
took  his  place  in  it  as  a  member.  Of  course,  he 
must  have  been  an  object  of  universal  interest 
and  attention.  The  impression  which  he  made 
here  seems  to  have  been  very  favorable.  After 
this  assembly  separated,  Alexander  proceeded 
southward,  accompanied  by  his  own  forces,  and 
tended  by  the  various  princes  and  potentates 


54        Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  33G. 

Thermopylae.  Leonidas  and  his  Spartans. 

of  Greece,  with  their  attendants  and  followers. 
The  feelings  of  exultation  and  pleasure  with 
which  the  young  king  defiled  through  the  Pass 
of  Thermopylae,  thus  attended,  must  have  been 
exciting  in  the  extreme. 

The  Pass  of  Thermopylae  was  a  scene  strong- 
ly associated  with  ideas  of  military  glory  and 
renown.  It  was  here  that,  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before,  Leonidas,  a  Spartan  general, 
with  only  three  hundred  soldiers,  had  attempted 
to  withstand  the  pressure  of  an  immense  Per- 
sian force  which  was  at  that  time  invading 
Greece.  He  was  one  of  the  kings  of  Sparta, 
and  he  had  the  command,  not  only  of  his  three 
hundred  Spartans,  but  also  of  all  the  allied  for- 
ces of  the  Greeks  that  had  been  assembled  to 
repel  the  Persian  invasion.  With  the  help  of 
these  allies  he  withstood  the  Persian  forces  for 
some  time,  and  as  the  pass  was  so  narrow  be- 
tween the  cliffs  and  the  sea,  he  was  enabled  to 
resist  them  successfully.  At  length,  however, 
a  strong  detachment  from  the  immense  Persian 
army  contrived  to  find  their  way  over  the  mount- 
ains and  around  the  pass,  so  as  to  establish  them- 
selves in  a  position  from  which  they  could  come 
down  upon  the  small  Greek  army  in  their  rear. 
Leonidas,  perceiving  this,  ordered  all  his  allies 


B.C.  336.]  Beginning  of  his  Reign.     55 


Death  of  Leonidas.  Spartan  valor. 

from  the  other  states  of  Greece  to  withdraw, 
leaving  himself  and  his  three  hundred  country- 
men alone  in  the  defile. 

He  did  not  expect  to  repel  his  enemies  or  to 
defend  the  pass.  He  knew  that  he  must  die, 
and  all  his  brave  followers  with  him,  and  that 
the  torrent  of  invaders  would  pour  down  through 
the  pass  over  their  bodies.  But  he  considered 
himself  stationed  there  to  defend  the  passage, 
and  he  would  not  desert  his  post,  When  the 
battle  came  on  he  was  the  first  to  fall.  The 
soldiers  gathered  around  him  and  defended  his 
dead  body  as  long  as  they  could.  At  length, 
overpowered  by  the  immense  numbers  of  their 
foes,  they  were  all  killed  but  one  man.  He 
made  his  escape  and  returned  to  Sparta.  A 
monument  was  erected  on  the  spot  with  this  in- 
scription :  "  Go,  traveler,  to  Sparta,  and  say  that 
we  lie  here,  on  the  spot  at  which  we  were  sta- 
tioned to  defend  our  country." 

Alexander  passed  through  the  defile.  He  ad- 
vanced to  the  great  cities  south  of  it — to  Athens, 
to  Thebes,  and  to  Corinth.  Another  great  as- 
sembly of  all  the  monarchs  and  potentates  of 
Greece  was  convened  in  Corinth  ;  and  here  Al- 
exander attained  the  object  of  his  ambition,  in 
having  the  command  of  the  great  expedition  into 


56       Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  336. 

Alexander  made  commander-in-chief.  He  returns  to  Macedon. 

Asia  conferred  upon  him.  The  impression  which 
he  made  upon  those  with  whom  he  came  into 
connection  by  his  personal  qualities  must  have 
been  favorable  in  the  extreme.  That  such  a 
youthful  prince  should  be  selected  by  so  power- 
ful a  confederation  of  nations  as  their  leader  in 
such  an  enterprise  as  they  were  about  to  en- 
gage in,  indicates  a  most  extraordinary  power 
on  his  part  of  acquiring  an  ascendency  over  the 
minds  of  men,  and  of  impressing  all  with  a  sense 
of  his  commanding  superiority.  Alexander  re- 
turned to  Macedon  from  his  expedition  to  the 
southward  in  triumph,  and  began  at  once  to 
arrange  the  affairs  of  his  kingdom,  so  as  to  be 
ready  to  enter,  unembarrassed,  upon  the  great 
career  of  conquest  which  he  imagined  was  be- 
fore him. 


B.C.  335.]        The    Reaction.  57 


Mount  Hffimus. 


Chapter  III. 

The    Re  act  ion. 

rflHE  country  which  was  formerly  occupied 
-*-  by  Macedon  and  the  other  states  of  Greece 
is  now  Turkey  in  Europe.  In  the  northern  part 
of  it  is  a  vast  chain  of  mountains  called  now  the 
Balkan.  In  Alexander's  day  it  was  Mount  Hge- 
mus.  This  chain  forms  a  broad  belt  of  lofty 
and  uninhabitable  land,  and  extends  from  the 
Black  Sea  to  the  Adriatic. 

A  branch  of  this  mountain  range,  called  Rho- 
dope,  extends  southwardly  from  about  the  mid- 
dle of  its  length,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  map. 
Rhodope  separated  Macedonia  from  a  large  and 
powerful  country,  which  was  occupied  by  a 
somewhat  rude  but  warlike  race  of  men.  This 
country  was  Thrace.  Thrace  was  one  great  fer- 
tile basin  or  valley,  sloping  toward  the  center 
in  every  direction,  so  that  all  the  streams  from 
the  mountains,  increased  by  the  rains  which  fell 
over  the  whole  surface  of  the  ground,  flowed  to- 
gether into  one  river,  which  meandered  through 
the  center  of  the  valley,  and  flowed  out  at  last 
into  the  iE^ean  Sea.     The  name  of  this  river 


58      Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  335. 


The  Hebrus. 


Valley  of  the  Danube. 


was  the  Hebrus.     All  this  may  be  seen  distinct" 
ly  upon  the  map. 


The  Balkan,  or  Mount  Hsemus,  as  it  was 
then  called,  formed  the  great  northern  frontier 
of  Macedon  and  Thrace.  From  the  summits  of 
the  range,  looking  northward,  the  eye  surveyed 
a  vast  extent  of  land,  constituting  one  of  the 
most  extensive  and  fertile  valleys  on  the  sflobe. 


RC.  335.]         The   Reaction.  59 

Thrace.  Revolt  among  the  northern  nations. 

It  was  the  valley  of  the  Danube.  It  was  in- 
habited, in  those  days,  by  rude  tribes  whom  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  always  designated  as  bar- 
barians. They  were,  at  any  rate,  wild  and  war- 
like, and,  as  they  had  not  the  art  of  writing, 
they  have  left  us  no  records  of  their  institutions 
or  their  history.  We  know  nothing  of  them,  or 
of  the  other  half-civilized  nations  that  occupied 
the  central  parts  of  Europe  in  those  days,  ex- 
cept what  their  inveterate  and  perpetual  ene- 
mies have  thought  fit  to  tell  us.  According  to 
their  story,  these  countries  were  filled  with  na- 
tions and  tribes  of  a  wild  and  half-savage  char- 
acter, who  could  be  kept  in  cheek  only  by  the 
most  vigorous  exertion  of  military  power. 

Soon  after  Alexander's  return  into  Macedon, 
he  learned  that  therje  were  symptoms  of  revolt 
among  these  nations.  Philip  had  subdued  them, 
and  established  the  kind  of  peace  which  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  were  accustomed  to  en- 
force upon  their  neighbors.  But  now,  as  they 
had  heard  that  Philip,  who  had  been  so  terrible 
a  warrior,  was  no  more,  and  that  his  son,  scarce- 
ly out  of  his  teens,  had  succeeded  to  the  throne, 
they  thought  a  suitable  occasion  had  arrived  to 
try  their  strength.  Alexander  made  immediate 
arrangements  for  moving  northward  with  his 
army  to  settle  this  question. 


60       Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  335. 

Alexander  marches  north.  Old  Boreas. 

He  conducted  his  forces  through  a  part  of 
Thrace  without  meeting  with  any  serious  re- 
sistance, and  approached  the  mountains.  The 
soldiers  looked  upon  the  rugged  precipices  and 
lofty  summits  before  them  with  awe.  These 
northern  mountains  were  the  seat  and  throne, 
in  the  imaginations  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans, 
of  old  Boreas,  the  hoary  god  of  the  north  wind. 
They  conceived  of  him  as  dwelling  among  those 
cold  and  stormy  summits,  and  making  excur- 
sions in  winter,  carrying  with  him  his  vast 
stores  of  frost  and  snow,  over  the  southern  val- 
leys and  plains.  He  had  wings,  a  long  beard, 
and  white  locks,  all  powdered  with  flakes  of 
snow.  Instead  of  feet,  his  body  terminated  in 
tails  of  serpents,  which,  as  he  flew  along,  lashed 
the  air,  writhing  from  under  his  robes.  He  was 
violent  and  impetuous  in  temper,  rejoicing  in 
the  devastation  of  winter,  and  in  all  the  sublime 
phenomena  of  tempests,  cold,  and  snow.  The 
Greek  conception  of  Boreas  made  an  impression 
upon  the  human  mind  that  twenty  centuries 
have  not  been  able  to  efface.  The  north  wind 
of  winter  is  personified  as  Boreas  to  the  pres- 
ent day  in  the  literature  of  every  nation  of  the 
Western  world. 

The  Thracian  forces  had  assembled  in  the  de- 


B.C.  335.]        The  Reaction.  61 

Contest  among  the  mountains.  The  loaded  wagons. 

files,  with  other  troops  from  the  northern  coun- 
tries, to  arrest  Alexander's  march,  and  he  had 
some  difficulty  in  repelling  them.  They  had 
got,  it  is  said,  some  sort  of  loaded  wagons  upon 
the  summit  of  an  ascent,  in  the  pass  of  the 
mountains,  up  which  Alexander's  forces  would 
have  to  march.  These  wagons  were  to  be  run 
down  upon  them  as  they  ascended.  Alexander 
ordered  his  men  to  advance,  notwithstanding  this 
danger.  He  directed  them,  where  it  was  prac- 
ticable, to  open  to  one  side  and  the  other,  and 
allow  the  descending  wagon  to  pass  through. 
When  this  could  not  be  done,  they  were  to  fall 
down  upon  the  ground  when  they  saw  this 
strange  military  engine  coming,  and  locking 
their  shields  together  over  their  heads,  allow  the 
wagon  to  roll  on  over  them,  bracing  up  ener- 
getically against  its  weight.  Notwithstanding 
these  precautions,  and  the  prodigious  muscular 
power  with  which  they  were  carried  into  effect, 
some  of  the  men  were  crushed.  The  great  body 
of  the  army  was,  however,  unharmed ;  as  soon 
as  the  force  of  the  wagons  was  spent,  they 
rushed  up  the  ascent,  and  attacked  their  ene- 
mies with  their  pikes.  The  barbarians  fled  in 
all  directions,  terrified  at  the  force  and  invul- 
nerability of  men  whom  loaded  wagons,  rolling 


&2       Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  335. 

Alexander's  victorious  march.  Mouths  of  the  Danube. 

over  their  bodies  down  a  steep  descent,  could 
not  kill. 

Alexander  advanced  from  one  conquest  like 
this  to  another,  moving  toward  the  northward 
and  eastward  after  he  had  crossed  the  mount- 
ains, until  at  length  he  approached  the  mouths 
of  the  Danube.  Here  one  of  the  great  chieftains 
of  the  barbarian  tribes  had  taken  up  his  posi- 
tion, with  his  family  and  court,  and  a  principal 
part  of  his  army,  upon  an  island  called  Peuce, 
which  may  be  seen  upon  the  map  at  the  begin- 
ning of  this  chapter.  This  island  divided  the 
current  of  the  stream,  and  Alexander,  in  at- 
tempting to  attack  it,  found  that  it  would  be 
best  to  endeavor  to  effect  a  landing  upon  the 
upper  point  of  it. 

To  make  this  attempt,  he  collected  all  the 
boats  and  vessels  which  he  could  obtain,  and 
embarked  his  troops  in  them  above,  directing 
them  to  fall  down  with  the  current,  and  to  land 
upon  the  island.  This  plan,  however,  did  not 
succeed  very  well ;  the  current  was  too  rapid 
for  the  proper  management  of  the  boats.  The 
shores,  too,  were  lined  with  the  forces  of  the 
enemy,  who  discharged  showers  of  spears  and 
arrows  at  the  men,  and  pushed  off  the  boats 
when  they  attempted  to  land.     Alexander  at 


B.C.  335.]        The  Reaction.  63 

Alexander  resolves  to  cross  the  Danube.  Preparations. 

length  gave  up  the  attempt,  and  concluded  to 
leave  the  island,  and  to  cross  the  river  itself 
further  above,  and  thus  carry  the  war  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  country. 

It  is  a  serious  undertaking  to  get  a  great  body 
of  men  and  horses  across  a  broad  and  rapid  riv- 
er, when  the  people  of  the  country  have  done  all 
in  their  power  to  remove  or  destroy  all  possible 
means  of  transit,  and  when  hostile  bands  are  on 
the  opposite  bank,  to  embarrass  and  impede  the 
operations  by  every  mode  in  their  power.  Al- 
exander, however,  advanced  to  the  undertaking 
with  great  resolution.  To  cross  the  Danube  es- 
pecially, with  a  military  force,  was,  in  those 
days,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, a  very  great  exploit.  The  river  was  so 
distant,  so  broad  and  rapid,  and  its  banks  were 
bordered  and  defended  by  such  ferocious  foes, 
that  to  cross  its  eddying  tide,  and  penetrate  into 
the  unknown  and  unexplored  regions  beyond, 
leaving  the  broad,  and  deep,  and  rapid  stream 
to  cut  off  the  hopes  of  retreat,  implied  the  pos- 
session of  extreme  self-reliance,  courage,  and 
decision. 

Alexander  collected  all  the  canoes  and  boats 
which  he  could  obtain  up  and  down  the  river. 
He  built  large  rafts,  attaching  to  them  the  skins 


64       Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  335 

The  river  crossed.  The  landing. 

of  beasts  sewed  together  and  inflated,  to  give 
them  buoyancy.  When  all  was  ready,  they  be- 
gan the  transportation  of  the  army  in  the  night, 
in  a  place  where  the  enemy  had  not  expected 
that  the  attempt  would  have  been  made.  There 
were  a  thousand  horses,  with  their  riders,  and 
four  thousand  foot  soldiers,  to  be  conveyed  across. 
It  is  customary,  in  such  cases,  to  swim  the  horses 
over,  leading  them  by  lines,  the  ends  of  which 
are  held  by  men  in  boats.  The  men  themselves, 
with  all  the  arms,  ammunition,  and  baggage,  had 
to  be  carried  over  in  the  boats  or  upon  the  rafts. 
Before  morning  the  whole  was  accomplished. 

The  army  landed  in  a  field  of  grain.  This 
circumstance,  which  is  casually  mentioned  by 
historians,  and  also  the  story  of  the  wagons  in 
the  passes  of  Mount  Haemus,  proves  that  these 
northern  nations  were  not  absolute  barbarians 
in  the  sense  in  which  that  term  is  used  at  the 
present  day.  The  arts  of  cultivation  and  of  con- 
struction must  have  made  some  progress  among 
them,  at  any  rate ;  and  they  proved,  by  some  of 
their  conflicts  with  Alexander,  that  they  were 
well-trained  and  well-disciplined  soldiers. 

The  Macedonians  swept  down  the  waving 
grain  with  their  pikes,  to  open  a  way  for  the 
advance  of  the  cavalry,  and  early  in  the  morn- 


B.C.  335.]         The    Reaction.  65 

Northern  nations  subdued.  Alexander  returns  to  Macedon. 

ing  Alexander  found  and  attacked  the  army  of 
his  enemies,  who  were  utterly  astonished  at 
finding  him  on  their  side  of  the  river.  As  may 
be  easily  anticipated,  the  barbarian  army  was 
beaten  in  the  battle  that  ensued.  Their  city 
was  taken.  The  booty  was  taken  back  across 
the  Danube  to  be  distributed  among  the  soldiers 
of  the  army.  The  neighboring  nations  and  tribes 
were  overawed  and  subdued  by  this  exhibition 
of  Alexander's  courage  and  energy.  He  made 
satisfactory  treaties  with  them  all ;  took  hosta- 
ges, where  necessary,  to  secure  the  observance 
of  the  treaties,  and  then  recrossed  the  Danube 
and  set  out  on  his  return  to  Macedon. 

.  He  found  that  it  was  time  for  him  to  return. 
The  southern  cities  and  states  of  Greece  had 
not  been  unanimous-  in  raising  him  to  the  office 
which  his  father  had  held.  The  Spartans  and 
some  others  were  opposed  to  him.  The  party 
thus  opposed  were  inactive  and  silent  while  Al- 
exander was  in  their  country,  on  his  first  visit 
to  southern  Greece ;  but  after  his  return  they 
began  to  contemplate  more  decisive  action,  and 
afterward,  when  they  heard  of  his  having  un- 
dertaken so  desperate  an  enterprise  as  going 
northward  with  his  forces,  and  actually  cross- 
ing the  Danube,  they  considered  him  as  so  com- 
E 


66       Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C. 335. 

Rebellion  of  Thebes.  Siege  of  the  citadel. 

pletely  out  of  the  way  that  they  grew  very  cour- 
ageous, and  meditated  open  rebellion. 

The  city  of  Thebes  did  at  length  rebel.  Philip 
had  conquered  this  city  in  former  struggles,  and 
had  left  a  Macedonian  garrison  there  in  the  cit- 
adel. The  name  of  the  citadel  was  Cadmeia. 
The  officers  of  the  garrison,  supposing  that  all 
was  secure,  left  the  soldiers  in  the  citadel,  and 
came,  themselves,  down  to  the  city  to  reside. 
Things  were  in  this  condition  when  the  rebellion 
against  Alexander's  authority  broke  out.  They 
killed  the  officers  who  were  in  the  city,  and  sum- 
moned the  garrison  to  surrender.  The  garrison 
refused,  and  the  Thebans  besieged  it. 

This  outbreak  against  Alexander's  authority 
was  in  a  great  measure  the  work  of  the  great 
orator  Demosthenes,  who  spared  no  exertions 
to  arouse  the  southern  states  of  Greece  to  re- 
sist Alexander's  dominion.  He  especially  ex- 
erted all  the  powers  of  his  eloquence  in  Athens 
in  the  endeavor  to  bring  over  the  Athenians  to 
take  sides  against  Alexander. 

While  things  were  in  this  state — the  The- 
bans having  understood  that  Alexander  had 
been  killed  at  the  north,  and  supposing  that,  at 
all  events,  if  this  report  should  not  be  true,  he 
was,  without  doubt,  still  far  away,  involved  in 


B.C.  335.J       The    Reaction.  67 

Sudden  appearance  of  Alexander.  He  invests  Tbebes. 

contentions  with  the  barbarian  nations,  from 
which  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  be  could 
be  very  speedily  extricated — the  whole  city  was 
suddenly  thrown  into  consternation  by  the  re- 
port that  a  large  Macedonian  army  was  ap- 
proaching from  the  north,  with  Alexander  at  its 
head,  and  that  it  was,  in  fact,  close  upon  them. 

It  was  now,  however,  too  late  for  the  The- 
bans  to  repent  of  what  they  had  done.  They 
were  far  too  deeply  impressed  with  a  conviction 
of  the  decision  and  energy  of  Alexander's  char- 
acter, as  manifested  in  the  whole  course  of  his 
proceedings  since  he  began  to  reign,  and  espe- 
cially by  his  sudden  reappearance  among  them 
so  soon  after  this  outbreak  against  bis  authori- 
ty, to  imagine  that  there  was  now  any  hope  for 
them  except  in  determined  and  successful  re- 
sistance. They  shut  themselves  up,  therefore, 
in  their  city,  and  prepared  to  defend  themselves 
to  the  last  extremity. 

Alexander  advanced,  and,  passing  round  the 
city  toward  the  southern  side,  established  his 
head-quarters  there,  so  as  to  cut  off  effectually 
all  communication  with  Athens  and  the  southern 
cities.  He  then  extended  his  posts  all  around 
the  place  so  as  to  invest  it  entirely.  These  prep- 
arations made,  he  paused  before  he  commenced 


68       Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  335. 

The  Thebans  refuse  to  surrender.  Storming  a  city. 

the  work  of  subduing  the  city,  to  give  the  in- 
habitants an  opportunity  to  submit,  if  they 
would,  without  compelling  him  to  resort  to 
force.  The  conditions,  however,  which  he  im- 
posed were  such  that  the  Thebans  thought  it 
best  to  take  their  chance  of  resistance.  They 
refused  to  surrender,  and  Alexander  began  to 
prepare  for  the  onset. 

He  was  very  soon  ready,  and  with  his  char- 
acteristic ardor  and  energy  he  determined  on 
attempting  to  carry  the  city  at  once  by  assault. 
Fortified  cities  generally  require  a  siege,  and 
sometimes  a  very  long  siege,  before  they  can  be 
subdued.  The  army  within,  sheltered  behind 
the  parapets  of  the  walls,  and  standing  there  in 
a  position  above  that  of  their  assailants,  have 
such  great  advantages  in  the  contest  that  a  long 
time  often  elapses  before  they  can  be  compelled 
to  surrender.  The  besiegers  have  to  invest  the 
city  on  all  sides  to  cut  off  all  supplies  of  provis- 
ions, and  then,  in  those  days,  they  had  to  con- 
struct engines  to  make  a  breach  somewhere  in 
the  walls,  through  which  an  assaulting  party 
could  attempt  to  force  their  way  in. 

The  time  for  making  an  assault  upon  a  be- 
sieged city  depends  upon  the  comparative 
strength  of  those  within  and  without,  and  also, 


B.C.  335.]        The    Reaction.  69 

Undermining.  Making  a  breach.  Surrender. 

still  more,  on  the  ardor  and  resolution  of  the  be- 
siegers. In  modern  warfare,  an  army,  in  in- 
vesting a  fortified  place,  spends  ordinarily  a  con- 
siderable time  in  burrowing  their  way  along  in 
trenches,  half  under  ground,  until  they  get  near 
enough  to  plant  their  cannon  where  the  balls 
can  take  effect  upon  some  part  of  the  wall. 
Then  some  time  usually  elapses  before  a  breach 
is  made,  and  the  garrison  is  sufficiently  weak- 
ened to  render  an  assault  advisable.'  When, 
however,  the  time  at  length  arrives,  the  most 
bold  and  desperate  portion  of  the  army  are  des- 
ignated to  lead  the  attack.  Bundles  of  small 
branches  of  trees  are  provided  to  fill  up  ditches 
with,  and  ladders  for  mounting  embankments 
and  walls.  The  city,  sometimes,  seeing  these 
preparations  going  j>n,  and  convinced  that  the 
assault  will  be  successful,  surrenders  before  it  is 
made.  When  the  besieged  do  thus  surrender, 
they  save  themselves  a  vast  amount  of  suffer- 
ing, for  the  carrying  of  a  city  by  assault  is  per- 
haps the  most  horrible  scene  which  the  passions 
and  crimes  of  men  ever  offer  to  the  view  of 
heaven. 

It  is  horrible,  because  the  soldiers,  exasperated 
to  fury  by  the  resistance  which  they  meet  with, 
and  by  the  awful  malignity  of  the  passions  al- 


70       Alexander   the  Great.  [B.C.  335. 

Carrying  a  city  by  assault.  Scenes  of  horror. 

ways  excited  in  the  hour  of  battle,  if  they  suc- 
ceed, burst  suddenly  into  the  precincts  of  do- 
mestic life,  and  find  sometimes  thousands  of 
families — mothers,  and  children,  and  defense- 
less maidens — at  the  mercy  of  passions  excited 
to  phrensy.  Soldiers,  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, can  not  be  restrained,  and  no  imagination 
can  conceive  the  horrors  of  the  sacking  of  a  city, 
carried  by  assault,  after  a  protracted  siege.  Ti- 
gers do  not  spring  upon  their  prey  with  greater 
ferocity  than  man  springs,  under  such  circum- 
stances, to  the  perpetration  of  every  possible 
cruelty  upon  his  fellow  man.  After  an  ordina- 
ry battle  upon  an  open  field,  the  conquerors  have 
only  men,  armed  like  themselves,  to  wreak  their 
vengeance  upon.  The  scene  is  awful  enough, 
however,  here.  But  in  carrying  a  city  by  storm, 
which  takes  place  usually  at  an  unexpected  time, 
and  often  in  the  night,  the  maddened  and  victo- 
rious assaulters  suddenly  burst  into  the  sacred 
scenes  of  domestic  peace,  and  seclusion,  and  love 
— the  very  worst  of  men,  filled  with  the  worst 
of  passions,  stimulated  by  the  resistance  they 
have  encountered,  and  licensed  by  their  victory 
to  give  all  these  passions  the  fullest  and  most 
unrestricted  gratification.  To  plunder,  burn, 
destroy,  and  kill,  are  the  lighter  and  more  harm- 
less of  the  crimes  they  perpetrate. 


B.C.  335.]        The  Reaction.  71 

Thebes  carried  by  assault.  Great  loss  of  life. 

Thebes  was  carried  by  assault.  Alexander 
did  not  wait  for  the  slow  operations  of  a  siege. 
He  watched  a  favorable  opportunity,  and  burst 
over  and  through  the  outer  line  of  fortifications 
which  defended  the  city.  The  attempt  to  do 
this  was  very  desperate,  and  the  loss  of  life  great ; 
but  it  was  triumphantly  successful.  The  The- 
bans  were  driven  back  toward  the  inner  wall,  and 
began  to  crowd  in,  through  the  gates,  into  the 
city,  in  terrible  confusion.  The  Macedonians 
were  close  upon  them,  and  pursuers  and  pur- 
sued, struggling  together,  and  trampling  upon 
and  killing  each  other  as  they  went,  flowed  in, 
like  a  boiling  and  raging  torrent  which  nothing 
could  resist,  through  the  open  arch-way. 

It  was  impossible  to  close  the  gates.  The 
whole  Macedonian  force  were  soon  in  full  pos- 
session of  the  now'clefenseless  houses,  and  for 
many  hours  screams,  and  wailings,  and  cries  of 
horror  and  despair  testified  to  the  awful  atrocity 
of  the  crimes  attendant  on  the  sacking  of  a  city. 
At  length  the  soldiery  were  restrained.  Order 
was  restored.  The  army  retired  to  the  posts 
assigned  them,  and  Alexander  began  to  delib- 
erate what  he  should  do  with  the  conquered 
town. 

He  determined  to  destroy  it — to  offer,  once  for 


72       Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  335. 

Thebes  destroyed.  The  manner  of  doing  it 

all,  a  terrible  example  of  the  consequences  of 
rebellion  against  him.  The  case  was  not  one, 
he  considered,  of  the  ordinary  conquest  of  a  foe. 
The  states  of  Greece — Thebes  with  the  rest — 
had  once  solemnly  conferred  upon  him  the  au- 
thority against  which  the  Thebans  had  now  re- 
belled. They  were  traitors,  therefore,  in  his 
judgment,  not  mere  enemies,  and  he  determined 
that  the  penalty  should  be  utter  destruction. 

But,  in  carrying  this  terrible  decision  into  ef- 
fect, he  acted  in  a  manner  so  deliberate,  dis- 
criminating, and  cautious,  as  to  diminish  very 
much  the  irritation  and  resentment  which  it 
would  otherwise  have  caused,  and  to  give  it  its 
full  moral  effect  as  a  measure,  not  of  angry  re- 
sentment, but  of  calm  and  deliberate  retribution 
— -just  and  proper,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the 
time.  In  the  first  place,  he  released  all  the 
priests.  Then,  in  respect  to  the  rest  of  the  pop- 
ulation, he  discriminated  carefully  between  those 
who  had  favored  the  rebellion  and  those  who 
had  been  true  to  their  allegiance  to  him.  The 
latter  were  allowed  to  depart  in  safety.  And  if, 
in  the  case  of  any  family,  it  could  be  shown  that 
one  individual  had  been  on  the  Macedonian  side, 
the  single  instance  of  fidelity  outweighed  the 
treason  of  the  other  members,  and  the  whole 
fnmilv  was  saved. 


B.C. 335.]        The    Reaction.  73 


Alexander's  moderation  and  forbearance.  Family  of  Pindar  spared. 

And  the  officers  appointed  to  carry  out  these 
provisions  were  liberal  in  the  interpretation  and 
application  of  them,  so  as  to  save  as  many  as 
there  could  be  any  possible  pretext  for  saving. 
The  descendants  and  family  connections  of  Pin- 
dar, the  celebrated  poet,  who  has  been  already 
mentioned  as  having  been  born  in  Thebes,  were 
all  pardoned  also,  whichever  side  they  may  have 
taken  in  the  contest.  The  truth  was,  that  Al- 
exander, though  he  had  the  sagacity  to  see  that 
he  was  placed  in  circumstances  where  prodig- 
ious moral  effect  in  strengthening  his  position 
would  be  produced  by  an  act  of  great  severity, 
was  swayed  by  so  many  generous  impulses, 
which  raised  him  above  the  ordinary  excite- 
ments of  irritation  and  revenge,  that  he  had 
every  desire  to  make  the  suffering  as  light,  and 
to  limit  it  by  as  narrow  bounds,  as  the  nature 
of  the  case  would  allow.  He  doubtless  also  had 
an  instinctive  feeling  that  the  moral  effect  it- 
self of  so  dreadful  a  retribution  as  he  was  about 
to  inflict  upon  the  devoted  city  would  be  very 
much  increased  by  forbearance  and  generosity, 
and  by  extreme  regard  for  the  security  and  pro- 
tection of  those  who  had  shown  themselves  his 
friends. 

After  all  these  exceptions  had  been  made, 


74         A  L  E  X  A  N  D  E  R     T II  E     G  R  E  A  T.    [B.C.  335! 

The  number  saved.  Efforts  of  Demosthenes. 

and  the  persons  to  whom  they  applied  had  been 
dismissed,  the  rest  of  the  population  were  sold 
into  slavery,  and  then  the  city  was  utterly  and 
entirely  destroyed.  The  number  thus  sold  was 
about  thirty  thousand,  and  six  thousand  had 
been  killed  in  the  assault  and  storming  of  the 
city.  Thus  Thebes  was  made  a  ruin  and  a 
desolation,  and  it  remained  so,  a  monument  of 
Alexander's  terrible  energy  and  decision,  for 
twenty  years. 

The  effect  of  the  destruction  of  Thebes  upon 
the  other  cities  and  states  of  Greece  was  what 
might  have  been  expected.  It  came  upon  them 
like  a  thunder-bolt.  Although  Thebes  was  the 
only  city  which  had  openly  revolted,  there  had 
been  strong  symptoms  of  disaffection  in  many 
other  places.  Demosthenes,  who  had  been  si- 
lent while  Alexander  was  present  in  Greece, 
during  his  first  visit  there,  had  again  been  en- 
deavoring to  arouse  opposition  to  Macedonian 
ascendency,  and  to  concentrate  and  bring  out 
into  action  the  influences  which  were  hostile  to 
Alexander.  He  said  in  his  speeches  that  Al- 
exander was  a  mere  boy,  and  that  it  was  dis- 
graceful for  such  cities  as  Athens,  Sparta,  and 
Thebes  to  submit  to  his  sway.  Alexander  had 
heard  of  these  things,  and,  as  he  was  coming 


B.C.  335.]        The    Reaction.  75 

The  boy  proves  to  be  a  man.  All  disaffection  subdued. 

down  into  Greece,  through  the  Straits  of  Ther- 
mopylse,  before  the  destruction  of  Thebes,  he 
said,  "  They  say  I  am  a  boy.  I  am  coming  to 
teach  them  that  I  am  a  man." 

He  did  teach  them  that  he  was  a  man.  His 
unexpected  appearance,  when  they  imagined 
him  entangled  among  the  mountains  and  wilds 
of  unknown  regions  in  the  north ;  his  sudden 
investiture  of  Thebes ;  the  assault ;  the  calm 
deliberations  in  respect  to  the  destiny  of  the 
city,  and  the  slow,  cautious,  discriminating,  but 
inexorable  energy  with  which  the  decision  was 
carried  into  effect,  all  coming  in  such  rapid  suc- 
cession, impressed  the  Grecian  commonwealth 
with  the  conviction  that  the  personage  they  had 
to  deal  with  was  no  boy  in  character,  whatever 
might  be  his  years.  All  symptoms  of  disaffec- 
tion against  the  rale 'of  Alexander  instantly  dis- 
appeared, and  did  not  soon  revive  again. 

Nor  was  this  effect  due  entirely  to  the  terror 
inspired  by  the  retribution  which  had  been  vis- 
ited upon  Thebes.  All  Greece  was  impress- 
ed with  a  new  admiration  for  Alexander's  char- 
acter as  they  witnessed  these  events,  in  which 
his  impetuous  energy,  his  cool  and  calm  decis- 
ion, his  forbearance,  his  magnanimity,  and  his 
faithfulness  to  his  friends,  were  all  so  conspicu- 


76       Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  335. 

Moral  effect  of  the  destruction  of  Thebes. 

ous.  His  pardoning  the  priests,  whether  they 
had  been  for  him  or  against  him,  made  every 
friend  of  religion  incline  to  his  favor.  The  same 
interposition  in  behalf  of  the  poet's  family  and 
descendants  spoke  directly  to  the  heart  of  every 
poet,  orator,  historian,  and  philosopher  through- 
out the  country,  and  tended  to  make  all  the 
lovers  of  literature  his  friends.  His  magnanim- 
ity, also,  in  deciding  that  one  single  friend  of  his 
in  a  family  should  save  that  family,  instead  of 
ordaining,  as  a  more  short-sighted  conqueror 
would  have  done,  that  a  single  enemy  should 
condemn  it,  must  have  awakened  a  strong  feel- 
ing of  gratitude  and  regard  in  the  hearts  of  all 
who  could  appreciate  fidelity  to  friends  and  gen- 
erosity of  spirit.  Thus,  as  the  news  of  the  de- 
struction of  Thebes,  and  the  selling  of  so  large 
a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  into  slavery,  spread 
over  the  land,  its  effect  was  to  turn  over  so 
great  a  part  of  the  population  to  a  feeling  of 
admiration  of  Alexander's  character,  and  confi- 
dence in  his  extraordinary  powers,  as  to  leave 
only  a  small  minority  disposed  to  take  sides 
with  the  punished  rebels,  or  resent  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  city. 

From  Thebes  Alexander  proceeded  to  the 
southward.     Deputations  from  the  cities  were 


B.C.  335.]         The    Reaction.  77 

Alexander  returns  to  Macedon.  Celebrates  his  victories. 

sent  to  him,  congratulating  him  on  his  victories, 
and  offering  their  adhesion  to  his  cause.  His 
influence  and  ascendency  seemed  firmly  estab- 
lished now  in  the  country  of  the  Greeks,  and 
in  due  time  he  returned  to  Macedon,  and  cele- 
brated at  .^Egse,  which  was  at  this  time  his 
capital,  the  establishment  and  confirmation  of 
his  power,  by  games,  shows,  spectacles,  illumi- 
nations, and  sacrifices  to  the  gods,  offered  on  a 
scale  of  the  greatest  pomp  and  magnificence. 
He  was  now  ready  to  turn  his  thoughts  toward 
the  long-projected  plan  of  the  expedition  into 
Asia. 


78      Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  334. 

The  expedition  into  Asia.  Debates  upon  it. 


Chapter    IV. 

Crossing  the  Hellespont. 

/~\N  Alexander's  arrival  in  Macedon,  he  im- 
^-J  mediately  began  to  turn  his  attention  to 
the  subject  of  the  invasion  of  Asia.  He  was 
full  of  ardor  and  enthusiasm  to  carry  this  pro- 
ject into  effect.  Considering  his  extreme  youth , 
and  the  captivating  character  of  the  enterprise, 
it  is  strange  that  he  should  have  exercised  so 
much  deliberation  and  caution  as  his  conduct 
did  really  evince.  He  had  now  settled  every 
thing  in  the  most  thorough  manner,  both  with- 
in his  dominions  and  among  the  nations  on  his 
borders,  and,  as  it  seemed  to  him,  the  time  had 
come  when  he  was  to  commence  active  prepa- 
rations for  the  great  Asiatic  campaign. 

He  brought  the  subject  before  his  ministers 
and  counselors.  They,  in  general,  concurred 
with  him  in  opinion.  There  were,  however, 
two  who  were  in  doubt,  or  rather  who  were,  in 
fact,  opposed  to  the  plan,  though  they  expressed 
their  non-concurrence  in  the  form  of  doubts. 
These  two  persons  were  Antipater  and  Par- 


B.C.  334.]       The  Hellespont.  79 

Objections  of  Antipater  and  Parrnenio.  Their  foresight. 

menio,  the  venerable  officers  who  have  been  al- 
ready mentioned  as  having  served  Philip  so 
faithfully,  and  as  transferring,  on  the  death  of 
the  father,  their  attachment  and  allegiance  at 
once  to  the  son. 

Antipater  and  Parmenio  represented  to  Al- 
exander that  if  he  were  to  go  to  Asia  at  that 
time,  he  would  put  to  extreme  hazard  all  the  in- 
terests of  Macedon.  As  he  had  no  family,  there 
was,  of  course,  no  direct  heir  to  the  crown,  and, 
in  case  of  any  misfortune  happening  by  which 
his  life  should  be  lost,  Macedon  would  become 
at  once  the  prey  of  contending  factions,  which 
would  immediately  arise,  each  presenting  its 
own  candidate  for  the  vacant  throne.  The  sa- 
gacity and  foresight  which  these  statesmen 
evinced  in  these  suggestions  were  abundantly 
confirmed  in  the  end.  Alexander  did  die  in 
Asia,  his  vast  kingdom  at  once  fell  into  pieces, 
and  it  was  desolated  with  internal  commotions 
and  civil  wars  for  a  long  period  after  his  death. 

Parmenio  and  Antipater  accordingly  advised 
the  king  to  postpone  his  expedition.  They  ad- 
vised him  to  seek  a  wife  among  the  princesses 
of  Greece,  and  then  to  settle  down  quietly  to 
the  duties  of  domestic  life,  and  to  the  govern- 
ment of  his  kingdom  for  a  few  years ;    then, 


80       Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  834. 

Alexander  decides  to  go.  Preparations. 

when  every  thing  should  have  become  settled 
and  consolidated  in  Greece,  and  his  family  was 
established  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen,  he 
could  leave  Macedon  more  safely.  Public  af- 
fairs would  go  on  more  steadily  while  he  lived, 
and,  in  case  of  his  death,  the  crown  would  de- 
scend, with  comparatively  little  danger  of  civil 
commotion,  to  his  heir. 

But  Alexander  was  fully  decided  against  any 
such  policy  as  this.  He  resolved  to  embark  in 
the  great  expedition  at  once.  He  concluded  to 
make  Antipater  his  vicegerent  in  Macedon  dur- 
ing his  absence,  and  to  take  Parmenio  with  him 
into  Asia.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Antipa- 
ter was  the  statesman  and  Parmenio  the  gen- 
eral ;  that  is,  Antipater  had  been  employed  more 
by  Philip  in  civil,  and  Parmenio  in  military  af- 
fairs, though  in  those  days  every  body  who  was 
hi  public  life  was  more  or  less  a  soldier. 

Alexander  left  an  army  of  ten  or  twelve  thou- 
sand men  with  Antipater  for  the  protection  of 
Macedon.  He  organized  another  army  of  about 
thirty-five  thousand  to  go  with  him.  This  was 
considered  a  very  small  army  for  such  a  vast 
undertaking.  One  or  two  hundred  years  before 
this  time,  Darius,  a  king  of  Persia,  had  invaded 
Greece  with  an  armv  of  five  hundred  thousand 


B.C.  334.]       The   Hellespont.  81 

Description  of  Thrace.  Vale  of  Tempe.  Olympus. 

men,  and  yet  he  had  been  defeated  and  driven 
back,  and  now  Alexander  was  undertaking  to 
retaliate  with  a  great  deal  less  than  one  tenth 
part  of  the  force. 

Of  Alexander's  army  of  thirty-five  thousand, 
thirty  thousand  were  foot  soldiers,  and  about 
five  thousand  were  horse.  More  than  half  the 
whole  army  was  from  Maeedon.  The  remain- 
der was  from  the  southern  states  of  Greece.  A 
large  body  of  the  horse  was  from  Thessaly,  which, 
as  will  be  seen  on  the  map,*  was  a  country  south 
of  Maeedon.  It  was,  in  fact,  one  broad  expand- 
ed valley,  with  mountains  all  around.  Tor- 
rents descended  from  these  mountains,  forming 
streams  which  flowed  in  currents  more  and  more 
deep  and  slow  as  they  descended  into  the  plains, 
and  combining  at  last  into  one  central  river, 
which  flowed  to  the  eastward,  and  escaped  from 
the  environage  of  mountains  through  a  most 
celebrated  dell  called  the  Vale  of  Tempe.  On 
the  north  of  this  valley  is  Olympus,  and  on  the 
south  the  two  twin  mountains  Pelion  and  Ossa. 
There  was  an  ancient  story  of  a  war  in  Thes- 
saly between  the  giants  who  were  imagined  to 
have  lived  there  in  very  early  days,  and  the 
gods.     The  giants  piled  Pelion  upon  Ossa  to 

*  At  the  commencement  of  Chapter  iii. 

F 


82       Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C.  384. 

Pelion  and  Ossa.  Alexander's  generosity. 

enable  them  to  get  up  to  heaven  in  their  assault 
upon  their  celestial  enemies.  The  fable  has 
led  to  a  proverb  which  prevails  in  every  lan- 
guage in  Europe,  by  which  all  extravagant  and 
unheard-of  exertions  to  accomplish  an  end  is 
said  to  be  a  piling  of  Pelion  upon  Ossa. 

Thessaly  was  famous  for  its  horses  and  its 
horsemen.  The  slopes  of  the  mountains  fur- 
nished the  best  of  pasturage  for  the  rearing  of 
the  animals,  and  the  plains  below  afforded  broad 
and  open  fields  for  training  and  exercising  the 
bodies  of  cavalry  formed  by  means  of  them. 
The  Thessalian  horse  were  famous  throughout 
all  Greece.    Bucephalus  was  reared  in  Thessaly. 

Alexander,  as  king  of  Macedon,  possessed  ex- 
tensive estates  and  revenues,  which  were  his 
own  personal  property,  and  were  independent 
of  the  revenues  of  the  state.  Before  setting 
out  on  his  expedition,  he  apportioned  these 
among  his  great  officers  and  generals,  both 
those  who  were  to  go  and  those  who  were  to 
remain.  He  evinced  great  generosity  in  this ; 
but  it  was,  after  all,  the  spirit  of  ambition,  more 
than  that  of  generosity,  which  led  him  to  do  it. 
The  two  great  impulses  which  animated  him 
were  the  pleasure  of  doing  great  deeds,  and  the 
fame  and  srlorv  of  having  done  them.     These 


B.C.334.]      The    Hellespont.  83 

Love  of  money.  Religious  sacrifices  and  spectacles. 

two  principles  are  very  distinct  in  their  nature, 
though  often  conjoined.  They  were  paramount 
arid  supreme  in  Alexander's  character,  and  ev- 
ery other  human  principle  was  subordinate  to 
them.  Money  was  to  him,  accordingly,  only  a 
means  to  enable  him  to  accomplish  these  ends. 
His  distributing  his  estates  and  revenues  in  the 
manner  above  described  was  only  a  judicious  ap- 
propriation of  the  money  to  the  promotion  of  the 
great  ends  he  wished  to  attain ;  it  was  expendi- 
ture, not  gift.  It  answered  admirably  the  end 
he  had  in  view.  His  friends  all  looked  upon 
him  as  extremely  generous  and  self-sacrificing. 
They  asked  him  what  he  had  reserved  for  him- 
self.    "  Hope,"  said  Alexander. 

At  length  all  things  were  ready,  and  Alexan- 
der began  to  celebrate  the  religious  sacrifices, 
spectacles,  and  shows  which,  in  those  days,  al- 
ways preceded  great  undertakings  of  this  kind. 
There  was  a  great  ceremony  in  honor  of  Jupi- 
ter and  the  nine  Muses,  which  had  long  been 
celebrated  in  Macedon  as  a  sort  of  annual  na- 
tional festival.  Alexander  now  caused  great 
preparations  for  this  festival. 

In  the  days  of  the  Greeks,  public  worship  and 
public  amusement  were  combined  in  one  and 
the  same  series  of  spectacles  and  ceremonies. 


84       Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C. 334. 


Ancient  forms  of  worship.  Religious  instincts. 

All  worship  was  a  theatrical  show,  and  almost 
all  shows  were  forms  of  worship.  The  religious 
instincts  of  the  human  heart  demand  some  sort 
of  sympathy  and  aid,  real  or  imaginary,  from 
the  invisible  world,  in  great  and  solemn  under- 
takings, and  in  every  momentous  crisis  in  its 
history.  It  is  true  that  Alexander's  soldiers, 
about  to  leave  their  homes  to  go  to  another 
quarter  of  the  globe,  and  into  scenes  of  danger 
and  death  from  which  it  was  very  improbable 
that  many  of  them  would  ever  return,  had  no 
other  celestial  protection  to  look  up  to  than  the 
spirits  of  ancient  heroes,  who,  they  imagined, 
had,  somehow  or  other,  found  their  final  home 
in  a  sort  of  heaven  among  the  summits  of  the 
mountains,  where  they  reigned,  in  some  sense, 
over  human  affairs ;  but  this,  small  as  it  seems 
to  us,  was  a  great  deal  to  them.  They  felt, 
when  sacrificing  to  these  gods,  that  they  were 
invoking  their  presence  and  sympathy.  These 
deities  having  been  engaged  in  the  same  enter- 
prises themselves,  and  animated  with  the  same 
hopes  and  fears,  the  soldiers  imagined  that  the 
semi-human  divinities  invoked  by  them  would 
take  an  interest  in  their  dangers,  and  rejoice  in 
their  success. 

The  Muses,  in  honor  of  whom,  as  well  as  Ju- 


B.C.  334.]      The    Hellespont.  85 

The  nine  Muses.  Festivities  in  honor  of  Jupiter. 

piter,  this  great  Macedonian  festival  was  held, 
were  nine  singing  and  dancing  maidens,  beau- 
tiful in  countenance  and  form,  and  enchanting- 
ly  graceful  in  all  their  movements.  They  came, 
the  ancients  imagined,  from  Thrace,  in  the 
north,  and  went  first  to  Jupiter  upon  Mount 
Olympus,  who  made  them  goddesses.  After- 
ward they  went  southward,  and  spread  over 
Greece,  making  their  residence,  at  last,  in  a 
palace  upon  Mount  Parnassus,  which  will  be 
found  upon  the  map  just  north  of  the  Gulf  of 
Corinth  and  west  of  Bceotia.  They  were  wor- 
shiped all  over  Greece  and  Italy  as  the  goddesses 
of  music  and  dancing.  In  later  times  particu- 
lar sciences  and  arts  were  assigned  to  them  re- 
spectively, as  history,  astronomy,  tragedy,  &c, 
though  there  was  nojlistinction  of  this  kind  in 
early  clays. 

The  festivities  in  honor  of  Jupiter  and  the 
Muses  were  continued  in  Macedon  nine  days, 
a  number  corresponding  with  that  of  the  danc- 
ing goddesses.  Alexander  made  very  magnifi- 
cent preparations  for  the  celebration  on  this  oc- 
casion. He  had  a  tent  made,  under  which,  it 
is  said,  a  hundred  tables  could  be  spread ;  and 
here  he  entertained,  day  after  day,  an  enormous 
company  of  princes,  potentates,  and  generals. 


86       Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  334. 

Spectacles  and  shows.  Alexander's  route. 

He  offered  sacrifices  to  such  of  the  gods  as  he 
supposed  it  would  please  the  soldiers  to  imagine 
that  they  had  propitiated.  Connected  with 
these  sacrifices  and  feastings,  there  were  ath- 
letic and  military  spectacles  and  shows — races 
and  wrestlings — and  mock  contests,  with  blunt- 
ed spears.  All  these  things  encouraged  and 
quickened  the  ardor  and  animation  of  the  sol- 
diers. It  aroused  their  ambition  to  distinguish 
themselves  by  their  exploits,  and  gave  them  an 
increased  and  stimulated  desire  for  honor  and 
fame.  Thus  inspirited  by  new  desires  for  hu- 
man praise,  and  trusting  in  the  sympathy  and 
protection  of  powers  which  were  all  that  they 
conceived  of  as  divine,  the  army  prepared  to  set 
forth  from  their  native  land,  bidding  it  a  long, 
and,  as  it  proved  to  most  of  them,  a  final  farewell. 
By  following  the  course  of  Alexander's  expe- 
dition upon  the  map  at  the  commencement  of 
chapter  iii.,  it  will  be  seen  that  his  route  lay 
first  along  the  northern  coasts  of  the  iEgean 
Sea.  He  was  to  pass  from  Europe  into  Asia 
by  crossing  the  Hellespont  between  Sestos  and 
Abydos.  He  sent  a  fleet  of  a  hundred  and  fifty 
galleys,  of  three  banks  of  oars  each,  over  the 
^Egean  Sea,  to  land  at  Sestos,  and  be  ready  to 
transport  his  army  across  the  straits.     The  ar- 


B.C.  834.]      The    Hellespont.  87 


Alexander  begins  his  march.  Romantic  adventure 

my,  in  the  mean  time,  marched  by  land.  They 
had  to  cross  the  rivers  which  flow  into  the  JEge- 
an  Sea  on  the  northern  side ;  but  as  these  rivers 
were  in  Macedon,  and  no  opposition  was  encoun- 
tered upon  the  banks  of  them,  there  was  no  se- 
rious difficulty  in  effecting  the  passage.  When 
they  reached  Sestos,  they  found  the  fleet  ready 
there,  awaiting  their  arrival. 

It  is  very  strikingly  characteristic  of  the  min- 
gling of  poetic  sentiment  and  enthusiasm  with 
calm  and  calculating  business  efficiency,  which 
shone  conspicuously  so  often  in  Alexander's  ca- 
reer, that  when  he  arrived  at  Sestos,  and  found 
that  the  ships  were  there,  and  the  army  safe, 
and  that  there  was  no  enemy  to  oppose  his  land- 
ing on  the  Asiatic  shore,  he  left  Parmenio  to 
conduct  the  transportation  of  the  troops  across 
the  water,  while  he  himself  went  away  in  a 
single  galley  on  an  excursion  of  sentiment  and 
romantic  adventure.  A  little  south  of  the  place 
where  his  army  was  to  cross,  there  lay,  on  the 
Asiatic  shore,  an  extended  plain,  on  which  were 
the  ruins  of  Troy.  Now  Troy  was  the  city 
which  was  the  scene  of  Homer's  poems — those 
poems  which  had  excited  so  much  interest  in 
the  mind  of  Alexander  in  his  early  years  ;  and 
he  determined,  instead  of  crossing  the  Helles- 


88       Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  3o4. 

The  plain  of  Troy.  Tenedos.  Mount  Ida.  The  Scamander. 


The  Plain  of  Tito  v. 


pont  with  the  main  body  of  his  army,  to  pro 
oeed  southward  in  a  single  galley,  and  land, 
himself,  on  the  Asiatic  shore,  on  the  very  spot 
which  the  romantic  imagination  of  his  youth 
had  dwelt  upon  so  often  and  so  long. 

Troy  was  situated  upon  a  plain.  Homer  de- 
scribes an  island  off  the  coast,  named  Tenedos, 
and  a  mountain  near  called  Mount  Ida.  There 
was  also  a  river  called  the  Scamander.  The 
island,  the  mountain,  and  the  river  remain,  pre- 
serving their  original  names  to  the  present  day, 


B.C.  334.]      The    Hellespont.  89 

The  Trojan  war.  Dream  of  Priam's  wife. 

except  that  the  river  is  now  called  the  Mender  ; 
but,  although  various  vestiges  of  ancient  ruins 
are  found  scattered  about  the  plain,  no  spot 
can  be  identified  as  the  site  of  the  city.  Some 
scholars  have  maintained  that  there  probably 
never  was  such  a  city ;  that  Homer  invented 
the  whole,  there  being  nothing  real  in  all  that  he 
describes  except  the  river,  the  mountain,  and 
the  island.  His  story  is,  however,  that  there 
was  a  great  and  powerful  city  there,  with  a 
kingdom  attached  to  it,  and  that  this  city  was 
besieged  by  the  Greeks  for  ten  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  it  was  taken  and  destroyed. 

The  story  of  the  origin  of  this  war  is  substan- 
tially this.  Priam  was  king  of  Troy.  His  wife, 
a  short  time  before  her  son  was  born,  dreamed 
that  at  his  birth  the  child  turned  into  a  torch 
and  set  the  palace  on  fire.  She  told  this  dream 
to  the  soothsayers,  and  asked  them  what  it 
meant.  They  said  it  must  mean  that  her  son 
would  be  the  means  of  bringing  some  terrible 
calamities  and  disasters  upon  the  family.  The 
mother  was  terrified,  and,  to  avert  these  calam- 
ities, gave  the  child  to  a  slave  as  soon  as  it  was 
born,  and  ordered  him  to  destroy  it.  The  slave 
pitied  the  helpless  babe,  and,  not  liking  to  de- 
stroy it  with  his  own  hand,  carried  it  to  Mount 
Ida.  and  left  it  Ihere  in  the  forests  to  die. 


90      Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Exposure  of  Paris.  The  apple  of  discord. 

A  she  bear,  roaming  through  the  woods,  found 
the  child,  and,  experiencing  a  feeling  of  mater- 
nal tenderness  for  it,  she  took  care  of  it,  and 
reared  it  as  if  it  had  been  her  own  offspring. 
The  child  was  found,  at  last,  by  some  shepherds 
who  lived  upon  the  mountain,  and  they  adopted 
it  as  their  own,  robbing  the  brute  mother  of  her 
charge.  They  named  the  boy  Paris.  He  grew 
in  strength  and  beauty,  and  gave  early  and  ex- 
traordinary proofs  of  courage  and  energy,  as  if 
he  had  imbibed  some  of  the  qualities  of  his  fierce 
foster  mother  with  the  milk  she  gave  him.  He 
was  so  remarkable  for  athletic  beauty  and  man- 
ly courage,  that  he  not  only  easily  won  the  heart 
of  a  nymph  of  Mount  Ida,  named  CEnone,  whom 
he  married,  but  he  also  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  goddesses  in  the  heavens. 

At  length  these  goddesses  had  a  dispute  which 
they  agreed  to  refer  to  him.  The  origin  of  the 
dispute  was  this.  There  was  a  wedding  among 
them,  and  one  of  them,  irritated  at  not  having 
been  invited,  had  a  golden  apple  made,  on  which 
were  engraved  the  words,  "  To  be  given  to  the 
most  beautiful."  She  threw  this  apple  into 
the  assembly  :  her  object  was  to  make  them 
quarrel  for  it.  In  fact,  she  was  herself  the  god- 
dess of  discord,  and,  independently  of  her  cause 


B.C.  334.]      The  Hellespont.  91 


The  dispute  about  the  apple.  Decided  in  favor  of  Venus. 

of  pique  in  this  case,  she  loved  to  promote  dis- 
putes. It  is  in  allusion  to  this  ancient  tale  that 
any  subject  of  dispute,  brought  up  unnecessari- 
ly among  friends,  is  called  to  this  day  an  apple 
of  discord. 

Three  of  the  goddesses  claimed  the  apple, 
each  insisting  that  she  was  more  beautiful  than 
the  others,  and  this  was  the  dispute  which  they 
agreed  to  refer  to  Paris.  They  accordingly  ex- 
hibited themselves  before  him  in  the  mountains, 
that  he  might  look  at  them  and  decide.  They 
did  not,  however,  seem  willing,  either  of  them, 
to  trust  to  an  impartial  decision  of  the  question, 
but  each  offered  the  judge  a  bribe  to  induce  him 
to  decide  in  her  favor.  One  promised  him  a 
kingdom,  another  great  fame,  and  the  third, 
Venus,  promised  hiiruthe  most  beautiful  wom- 
an in  the  world  for  his  wife.  He  decided  in  fa- 
vor of  Venus ;  whether  because  she  was  justly 
entitled  to  the  decision,  or  through  the  influence 
of  the  bribe,  the  story  does  not  say. 

All  this  time  Paris  remained  on  the  mount- 
ain, a  simple  shepherd  and  herdsman,  not  know- 
ing his  relationship  to  the  monarch  who  reigned 
over  the  city  and  kingdom  on  the  plain  below. 
King  Priam,  however,  about  this  time,  in  some 
games  which  he  was  celebrating,  offered,  as  a 


92       Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  334. 

The  story  of  the  bull.  Paris  restored  to  his  parents. 

prize  to  the  victor,  the  finest  bull  which  could 
be  obtained  ou  Mount  Ida.  On  making  exam- 
ination, Paris  was  found  to  have  the  finest  bull, 
and  the  king,  exercising  the  despotic  power 
which  kings  in  those  days  made  no  scruple  of 
assuming  in  respect  to  helpless  peasants,  took 
it  away.  Paris  was  very  indignant.  It  hap- 
pened, however,  that  a  short  time  afterward 
there  was  another  opportunity  to  contend  for 
the  same  bull,  and  Paris,  disguising  himself  as 
a  prince,  appeared  in  the  lists,  conquered  every 
competitor,  and  bore  away  the  bull  again  to  his 
home  in  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountain. 

In  consequence  of  this  his  appearance  at 
court,  the  daughter  of  Priam,  whose  name  was 
Cassandra,  became  acquainted  with  him,  and, 
inquiring  into  his  story,  succeeded  in  ascertain- 
ing that  he  was  her  brother,  the  long-lost  child, 
that  had  been  supposed  to  be  put  to  death.  King 
Priam  was  convinced  by  the  evidence  which  she 
brought  forward,  and  Paris  was  brought  home 
to  his  father's  house.  After  becoming  estab- 
lished in  his  new  position,  he  remembered  the 
promise  of  Venus  that  he  should  have  the  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  world  for  his  wife,  and 
he  began,  accordingly,  to  inquire  where  he  could 
find  her. 


A-f 


Paris  and  Helen. 


B.C.  334.]     The    Hellespont.  95 

Abduction  of  Helen.  Destruction  of  Troy. 

There  was  in  Sparta,  one  of  the  cities  of 
Southern  Greece,  a  certain  king  Menelaus,  who 
had  a  youthful  bride  named  Helen,  who  was 
famed  far  and  near  for  her  beauty.  Paris  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  she  was  the  most  lovely 
woman  in  the  world,  and  that  he  was  entitled, 
in  virtue  of  Venus's  promise,  to  obtain  posses- 
sion of  her,  if  he  could  do  so  by  any  means 
whatever.  He  accordingly  made  a  journey  into 
Greece,  visited  Sparta,  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  Helen,  persuaded  her  to  abandon  her  hus- 
band and  her  duty,  and  elope  with  him  to  Troy. 

Menelaus  was  indignant  at  this  outrage.  He 
called  on  all  Greece  to  take  up  arms  and  join 
him  in  the  attempt  to  recover  his  bride.  They 
responded  to  this  demand.  They  first  sent  to 
Priam,  demanding  that  he  should  restore  Helen 
to  her  husband.  Priam  refused  to  do  so,  tak- 
ing part  with  his  son.  The  Greeks  then  raised 
a  fleet  and  an  army,  and  came  to  the  plains  of 
Troy,  encamped  before  the  city,  and  persevered 
for  ten  long  years  in  besieging  it,  when  at  length 
it  was  taken  and  destroyed. 

These  stories  relating  to  the  origin  of  the  war, 
however,  marvelous  and  entertaining  as  they 
are,  were  not  the  points  which  chiefly  interest- 
ed the  mind  of  Alexander.     The  portions  of  Ho- 


96       Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  381. 

Homer's  writings.  Achilles.  The  Styx. 

mer's  narratives  which  most  excited  his  enthu- 
siasm were  those  relating  to  the  characters  of 
the  heroes  who  fought,  on  one  side  and  on  the 
other,  at  the  siege,  their  various  adventures, 
and  the  delineations  of  their  motives  and  prin- 
ciples of  conduct,  and  the  emotions  and  excite- 
ments they  experienced  in  the  various  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  placed.  Homer  de- 
scribed with  great  beauty  and  force  the  work- 
ings of  ambition,  of  resentment,  of  pride,  of  ri- 
valry, and  all  those  other  impulses  of  the  hu- 
man heart  which  would  excite  and  control  the 
action  of  impetuous  men  in  the  circumstances 
in  which  his  heroes  were  placed. 

Each  one  of  the  heroes  whose  history  and  ad- 
ventures he  gives,  possessed  a  well-marked  and 
striking  character,  and  differed  in  temperament 
and  action  from  the  rest.  Achilles  was  one. 
He  was  fiery,  impetuous,  and  implacable  in 
character,  fierce  and  merciless ;  and,  though 
perfectly  undaunted  and  fearless,  entirely  des- 
titute of  magnanimity.  There  was  a  river  call- 
ed the  Styx,  the  waters  of  which  were  said  to 
have  the  property  of  making  any  one  invulner- 
able. The  mother  of  Achilles  dipped  him  into 
it  in  his  infancy,  holding  him.  by  the  heel.  The 
heel,  not  having  been  immersed,  was  the  only 


B.C.  334.J     The    Hellespont.  97 

Character  of  Achilles.  Agamemnon. 


Achilles. 


part  which  could  be  wounded.  Thus  he  was  safe 
in  battle,  and  was  a  terrible  warrior.  He,  how- 
ever, quarreled  with  his  comrades  and  withdrew 
from  their  cause  on  slight  pretexts,  and  then  be- 
came reconciled  again,  influenced  by  equally 
frivolous  reasons. 

Agamemnon  was  the  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Greek  army.  After  a  certain  victory,  by 
which  some  captives  were  taken,  and  were  to 
be  divided  among  the  victors,  Agamemnon  was 
obliged  to  restore  one,  a  noble  lady,  who  had 
fallen  to  his  share,  and  he  took  away  the  one 
that  had  been  assigned  to  Achilles  to  replace 
her.  This  incensed  Achilles,  and  he  withdrew 
G 


98      Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Death  of  Patroclus.  Hector  slain  by  Acbilles. 

for  a  long  time  from  the  contest ;  and,  in  conse- 
quence of  his  absence,  the  Trojans  gained  great 
and  continued  victories  against  the  Greeks. 
For  a  long  time  nothing  could  induce  Achilles 
to  return. 

At  length,  however,  though  he  would  not  go 
himself,  he  allowed  his  intimate  friend,  whose 
name  was  Patroclus,  to  take  his  armor  and  go 
into  battle.  Patroclus  was  at  first  successful, 
but  was  soon  killed  by  Hector,  the  brother  of 
Paris.  This  aroused  anger  and  a  spirit  of  re- 
venge in  the  mind  of  Achilles.  He  gave  up  his 
quarrel  with  Agamemnon  and  returned  to  the 
combat.  He  did  not  remit  his  exertions  till  he 
had  slain  Hector,  and  then  he  expressed  his  bru- 
tal exultation,  and  satisfied  his  revenge,  by  drag- 
ging the  dead  body  at  the  wheels  of  his  chariot 
around  the  walls  of  the  city.  He  then  sold  the 
body  to  the  distracted  father  for  a  ransom. 

It  was  such  stories  as  these,  which  are  re- 
lated in  the  poems  of  Homer  with  great  beauty 
and  power,  that  had  chiefly  interested  the  mind 
of  Alexander.  The  subjects  interested  him ; 
the  accounts  of  the  contentions,  the  rivalries, 
the  exploits  of  these  warriors,  the  delineations 
of  their  character  and  springs  of  action,  and  the 
narrations  of  the  various  incidents  and  events  to 


B.C.  334.]     The    Hellespont.  99 

Alexander  proceeds  to  Troy.  Neptune. 

which  such  a  war  gave  rise,  were  all  calculated 
to  captivate  the  imagination  of  a  young  mar- 
tial hero. 

Alexander  accordingly  resolved  that  his  first 
landing  in  Asia  should  be  at  Troy.  He  left  his 
army  under  the  charge  of  Parmenio,  to  cross 
from  Sestos  to  Abydos,  while  he  himself  set 
forth  in  a  single  galley  to  proceed  to  the  south- 
ward. There  was  a  port  on  the  Trojan  shore 
where  the  Greeks  had  been  accustomed  to  dis- 
embark, and  he  steered  his  course  for  it.  He 
had  a  bull  on  board  his  galley  which  he  was 
going  to  offer  as  a  sacrifice  to  Neptune  when 
half  way  from  shore  to  shore. 

Neptune  was  the  god  of  the  sea.  It  is  true 
that  the  Hellespont  is  not  the  open  ocean,  but 
it  is  an  arm  of  the  sea,  and  thus  belonged  prop- 
erly to  the  dominions  which  the  ancients  as- 
signed to  the  divinity  of  the  waters.  Neptune 
was  conceived  of  by  the  ancients  as  a  monarch 
dwelling  on  the  seas  or  Upon  the  coasts,  and 
riding  over  the  waves  seated  in  a  great  shell, 
or  sometimes  in  a  chariot,  drawn  by  dolphins  or 
sea-horses.  In  these  excursions  he  was  attend- 
ed by  a  train  of  sea-gods  and  nymphs,  who,  half 
floating,  half  swimming,  followed  him  over  the 
billows.     Instead  of  a  scepter  Neptune  carried 


100    Alexander  the   Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Landing  of  Alexander.  Sacrifices  to  the  gods. 

a  trident.  A  trident  was  a  sort  of  three-prong- 
ed harpoon,  such  as  was  used  in  those  days  by 
the  fishermen  of  the  Mediterranean.  It  was 
from  this  circumstance,  probably,  that  it  was 
chosen  as  the  badge  of  authority  for  the  god  of 
the  sea. 

Alexander  took  the  helm,  and  steered  the 
galley  with  his  own  hands  toward  the  Asiatic 
shore.  Just  before  he  reached  the  land,  he  took 
his  place  upon  the  prow,  and  threw  a  javelin  at 
the  shore  as  he  approached  it,  a  symbol  of  the 
spirit  of  defiance  and  hostility  with  which  he 
advanced  to  the  frontiers  of  the  eastern  world. 
He  was  also  the  first  to  land.  After  disembark- 
ing his  company,  he  offered  sacrifices  to  the 
gods,  and  then  proceeded  to  visit  the  places 
which  had  been  the  scenes  of  the  events  which 
Homer  had  described. 

Homer  had  written  five  hundred  years  before 
the  time  of  Alexander,  and  there  is  some  doubt 
whether  the  ruins  and  the  remains  of  cities 
which  our  hero  found  there  were  really  the 
scenes  of  the  narratives  which  had  interested 
him  so  deeply.  He,  however,  at  any  rate,  be- 
lieved them  to  be  so,  and  he  was  filled  with  en- 
thusiasm and  pride  as  he  wandered  among  them. 
He  seems  to  have  been  most  interested  in  the 


B.C.  334.]      The    Hellespont.  101 

Alexander  proceeds  on  his  march.  Lampsacus. 

character  of  Achilles,  and  he  said  that  he  en- 
vied him  his  happy  lot  in  having  such  a  friend 
as  Patroclus  to  help  him  perform  his  exploits, 
and  such  a  poet  as  Homer  to  celebrate  them. 

After  completing  his  visit  upon  the  plain  of 
Troy,  Alexander  moved  toward  the  northeast 
with  the  few  men  who  had  accompanied  him  in 
his  single  galley.  In  the  mean  time  Parmenio 
had  crossed  safely,  with  the  main  body  of  the 
army,  from  Sestos  to  Abydos.  Alexander  over- 
took them  on  their  march,  not  far  from  the  place 
of  their  landing.  To  the  northward  of  this  place, 
on  the  left  of  the  line  of  march  which  Alexander 
was  taking,  was  the  city  of  Lampsacus. 

Now  a  large  portion  of  Asia  Minor,  although 
for  the  most  part  under  the  dominion  of  Persia, 
had  been  in  a  great  measure  settled  by  Greeks, 
and,  in  previous  wars  between  the  two  nations, 
the  various  cities  had  been  in  possession,  some- 
times of  one  power  and  sometimes  of  the  other. 
In  these  contests  the  city  of  Lampsacus  had 
incurred  the  high  displeasure  of  the  Greeks  by 
rebelling,  as  they  said,  on  one  occasion,  against 
them.  Alexander  determined  to  destroy  it  as 
he  passed.  The  inhabitants  were  aware  of  this 
intention,  and  sent  an  embassador  to  Alexander 
to  implore  his  mercy.     When  the  embassador 


102    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Alexander  spares  Lampsacus.  Arrival  at  the  Granicus. 

approached,  Alexander,  knowing  his  errand,  ut- 
tered a  declaration  in  which  he  bound  himself 
by  a  solemn  oath  not  to  grant  the  request  he 
was  about  to  make.  "I  have  come,"  said  the 
embassador,  "to  implore  you  to  destroy  Lamp- 
sacus." Alexander,  pleased  with  the  readiness 
of  the  embassador  in  giving  his  language  such 
a  sudden  turn,  and  perhaps  influenced  by  his 
oath,  spared  the  city. 

He  was  now  fairly  in  Asia.  The  Persian 
forces  were  gathering  to  attack  him,  but  so  un- 
expected and  sudden  had  been  his  invasion  that 
they  were  not  prepared  to  meet  him  at  his  ar- 
rival, and  he  advanced  without  opposition  till 
he  reached  the  banks  of  the  little  river  C4ranicus. 


B.C.334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  103 

Alexander  hemmed  in  by  Mount  Ida  and  the  Granicus. 


Chapter   V. 
Campaign    in    Asia    Minor. 

ALTHOUGH  Alexander  had  landed  safely 
on  the  Asiatic  shore,  the  way  was  not  yet 
fairly  open  for  him  to  advance  into  the  interior 
of  the  country.  He  was  upon  a  sort  of  plain, 
which  was  separated  from  the  territory  beyond 
by  natural  barriers.  On  the  south  was  the 
range  of  lofty  land  called  Mount  Ida.  From 
the  northeastern  slopes  of  this  mountain  there 
descended  a  stream  which  flowed  north  into  the 
sea,  thus  hemming  Alexander's  army  in.  He 
must  either  scale  the  mountain  or  cross  the 
river  before  he  could  penetrate  into  the  in- 
terior. 

He  thought  it  would  be  easiest  to  cross  the 
river.  It  is  very  difficult  to  get  a  large  body 
of  horsemen  and  of  heavy-armed  soldiers,  with 
all  their  attendants  and  baggage,  over  high  ele- 
vations of  land.  This  was  the  reason  why  the 
army  turned  to  the  northward  after  landing 
upon  the  Asiatic  shore.  Alexander  thought 
the  Granicus  less  of  an  obstacle  than  Mount 


104     Alexander  the   Great.   [B.C.  334. 


The  Granicus. 


Prodromi. 


The  Gbanicus. 


Ida.     It  was  not  a  large  stream,  and  was  easi- 
ly fordable. 

It  was  the  custom  in  those  days,  as  it  is  now, 
when  armies  are  marching,  to  send  forward 
small  bodies  of  men  in  every  direction  to  ex- 
plore the  roads,  remove  obstacles,  and  discover 
sources  of  danger.  These  men  are  called,  in 
modern  times,  scouts  ;  in  Alexander's  day,  and 
in  the  Greek  language,  they  were  called  pro- 
dromi, which  means  forerunners.  It  is  the 
duty  of  these  pioneers  to  send  messengers  back 


B.C.  334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.   105 

Alexander  stopped  at  the  Granicus.  Council  called. 

continually  to  the  main  body  of  the  army,  in- 
forming the  officers  of  every  thing  important 
which  comes  under  their  observation. 

In  this  case,  when  the  army  was  gradually 
drawing  near  to  the  river,  the  prodromi  came 
in  with  the  news  that  they  had  been  to  the  riv- 
er, and  found  the  whole  opposite  shore,  at  the 
place  of  crossing,  lined  with  Persian  troops,  col- 
lected there  to  dispute  the  passage.  The  army 
continued  their  advance,  while  Alexander  called 
the  leading  generals  around  him,  to  consider 
what  was  to  be  done. 

Parmenio  recommended  that  they  should  not 
attempt  to  pass  the  river  immediately.  The 
Persian  army  consisted  chiefly  of  cavalry. 
Now  cavalry,  though  very  terrible  as  an  enemy 
on  the  field  of  battle  by  day,  are  peculiarly  ex- 
posed and  defenseless  in  an  encampment  by 
night.  The  horses  are  scattered,  feeding  or  at 
rest.  The  arms  of  the  men  are  light,  and  they 
are  not  accustomed  to  fighting  on  foot ;  and  on 
a  sudden  incursion  of  an  enemy  at  midnight 
into  their  camp,  their  horses  and  their  horse- 
manship are  alike  useless,  and  they  fall  an  easy 
prey  to  resolute  invaders.  Parmenio  thought, 
therefore,  that  the  Persians  would  not  dare  to 
remain  and  encamp  many  days  in  the  vicinity 


10(3     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.334. 

Alexander  resolves  to  advance.  His  motives. 

of  Alexander's  army,  and  that,  accordingly,  if 
they  waited  a  little,  the  enemy  would  retreat, 
and  Alexander  could  then  cross  the  river  with- 
out incurring  the  danger  of  a  battle. 

But  Alexander  was  unwilling  to  adopt  any 
such  policy.  He  felt  confident  that  his  army 
was  courageous  and  strong  enough  to  march  on, 
directly  through  the  river,  ascend  the  bank  upon 
the  other  side,  and  force  their  way  through  all 
the  opposition  which  the  Persians  could  make. 
He  knew,  too,  that  if  this  were  done  it  would 
create  a  strong  sensation  throughout  the  whole 
country,  impressing  every  one  with  a  sense  of 
the  energy  and  power  of  the  army  which  he 
was  conducting,  and  would  thus  tend  to  intimi- 
date the  enemy,  and  facilitate  all  future  opera- 
tions. But  this  was  not  all ;  he  had  a  more 
powerful  motive  still  for  wishing  to  march  right 
on,  across  the  river,  and  force  his  way  through 
the  vast  bodies  of  cavalry  on  the  opposite  shore, 
and  this  was  the  pleasure  of  performing  the  ex- 
ploit. 

Accordingly,  as  the  army  advanced  to  the 
banks,  they  maneuvered  to  form  in  order  of  bat- 
tle, and  prepared  to  continue  their  march  as  if 
there  were  no  obstacle  to  oppose  them.  The 
general  order  of  battle  of  the  Macedonian  army 


B.C.  334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.   107 

The  Macedonian  phalanx.  Its  organization. 

was  this.  There  was  a  certain  body  of  troops, 
armed  and  organized  in  a  peculiar  manner,  call- 
ed the  Phalanx.  This  body  was  placed  in  the 
center.  The  men  composing  it  were  very  heav- 
ily armed.  They  had  shields  upon  the  left  arm, 
and  they  carried  spears  sixteen  feet  long,  and 
pointed  with  iron,  which  they  held  firmly  in 
their  two  hands,  with  the  points  projecting  far 
before  them.  The  men  were  arranged  in  lines, 
one  behind  the  other,  and  all  facing  the  enemy 
— sixteen  lines,  and  a  thousand  in  each  line,  or, 
as  it  is  expressed  in  military  phrase,  a  thousand 
in  rank  and  sixteen  in  file,  so  that  the  phalanx 
contained  sixteen  thousand  men. 

The  spears  were  so  long  that  when  the  men 
stood  in  close  order,  the  rear  ranks  being  brought 
up  near  to  those  before  them,  the  points  of  the 
spears  of  eight  or  ten  of  the  ranks  projected  in 
front,  forming  a  bristling  wall  of  points  of  steel, 
each  one  of  which  was  held  in  its  place  by  the 
strong  arms  of  an  athletic  and  well-trained  sol- 
dier. This  wall  no  force  which  could  in  those 
days  be  brought  against  it  could  penetrate. 
Men,  horses,  elephants,  every  thing  that  at- 
tempted to  rush  upon  it,  rushed  only  to  their  own 
destruction.  Every  spear,  feeling  the  impulse 
of  the  vigorous  arms  which  held  it,  seemed  to 


108    Alexander  the   Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Formidable  character  of  the  phalanx.  Is  irresistible. 

be  alive,  and  darted  into  its  enemy,  when  an  en- 
emy was  at  hand,  as  if  it  felt  itself  the  fierce 
hostility  which  directed  it.  If  the  enemy  re- 
mained at  a  distance,  and  threw  javelins  or  darts 
at  the  phalanx,  they  fell  harmless,  stopped  by 
the  shields  which  the  soldiers  wore  upon  the 
left  arm,  and  which  were  held  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  form  a  system  of  scales,  which  cover- 
ed and  protected  the  whole  mass,  and  made  the 
men  almost  invulnerable.  The  phalanx  was 
thus,  when  only  defending  itself  and  in  a  state 
of  rest,  an  army  and  a  fortification  all  in  one, 
and  it  was  almost  impregnable.  But  when  it 
took  an  aggressive  form,  put  itself  in  motion, 
and  advanced  to  an  attack,  it  was  infinitely 
more  formidable.  It  became  then  a  terrible 
monster,  covered  with  scales  of  brass,  from  be- 
neath which  there  projected  forward  ten  thou- 
sand living,  darting  points  of  iron.  It  advanc- 
ed deliberately  and  calmly,  but  with  a  prodig- 
ious momentum  and  force.  There  was  nothing 
human  in  its  appearance  at  all.  It  was  a  huge 
animal,  ferocious,  dogged,  stubborn,  insensible 
to  pain,  knowing  no  fear,  and  bearing  down  with 
resistless  and  merciless  destruction  upon  every 
thing  that  came  in  its  way.  The  phalanx  was 
the  center  and  soul  of  Alexander's  army.   Pow- 


B.C.334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  109 

Divisions  of  the  phalanx.  Its  position  in  battle. 

erful  and  impregnable  as  it  was,  however,  in 
ancient  days,  it  would  be  helpless  and  defense- 
less on  a  modern  battle-field.  Solid  balls  of 
iron,  flying  through  the  air  with  a  velocity 
which  makes  them  invisible,  would  tear  their 
way  through  the  pikes  and  the  shields,  and  the 
bodies  of  the  men  who  bore  them,  without  even 
feeling  the  obstruction. 

The  phalanx  was  subdivided  into  brigades, 
regiments,  and  battalions,  and  regularly  officer- 
ed. In  marching,  it  was  separated  into  these 
its  constituent  parts,  and  sometimes  in  battle  it 
acted  in  divisions.  It  was  stationed  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  army  on  the  field,  and  on  the  two 
sides  of  it  were  bodies  of  cavalry  and  foot  sol- 
diers, more  lightly  armed  than  the  soldiers  of 
the  phalanx,  who  could  accordingly  move  with 
more  alertness  and  speed,  and  carry  their  ac- 
tion readily  wherever  it  might  be  called  for. 
Those  troops  on  the  sides  were  called  the  wings. 
Alexander  himself  was  accustomed  to  command 
one  wing  and  Parmenio  the  other,  while  the 
phalanx  crept  along  slowly  but  terribly  between. 

The  army,  thus  arranged  and  organized,  ad- 
vanced to  the  river.  It  was  a  broad  and  shal- 
low stream.  The  Persians  had  assembled  in 
vast  numbers  on  the  opposite  shore.     Some  his- 


110     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Battle  of  the  Granicus.  Defeat  of  the  Persians. 

torians  say  there  were  one  hundred  thousand 
men,  others  say  two  hundred  thousand,  and  oth- 
ers six  hundred  thousand.  However  this  may 
be,  there  is  no  doubt  their  numbers  were  vastly 
superior  to  those  of  Alexander's  army,  which  it 
will  be  recollected  was  less  than  forty  thousand, 
There  was  a  narrow  plain  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  next  to  the  shore,  and  a  range  of 
hills  beyond.  The  Persian  cavalry  covered  the 
plain,  and  were  ready  to  dash  upon  the  Mace- 
donian troops  the  moment  they  should  emerge 
from  the  water  and  attempt  to  ascend  the  bank. 

The  army,  led  by  Alexander,  descended  into 
the  stream,  and  moved  on  through  the  water. 
They  encountered  the  onset  of  their  enemies  on 
the  opposite  shore.  A  terrible  and  a  protracted 
struggle  ensued,  but  the  coolness,  courage,  and 
strength  of  Alexander's  army  carried  the  day. 
The  Persians  were  driven  back,  the  Greeks  ef- 
fected their  landing,  reorganized  and  formed  on 
the  shore,  and  the  Persians,  finding  that  all  was 
lost,  fled  in  all  directions. 

Alexander  himself  took  a  conspicuous  and  a 
very  active  part  in  the  contest.  He  was  easily 
recognized  on  the  field  of  battle  by  his  dress,  and 
by  a  white  plume  which  he  wore  in  his  helmet. 
He  exposed  himself  to  the  most  imminent  dan- 


B.C.  334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  Ill 

Alexander's  prowess.  His  imminent  danger. 

ger.  At  one  time,  when  desperately  engaged 
with  a  troop  of  horse,  which  had  galloped  down 
upon  him,  a  Persian  horseman  aimed  a  blow  at 
his  head  with  a  sword.  Alexander  saved  his 
head  from  the  blow,  but  it  took  off  his  plume 
and  a  part  of  his  helmet.  Alexander  immedi- 
ately thrust  his  antagonist  through  the  body. 
At  the  same  moment,  another  horseman,  on  an- 
other side,  had  his  sword  raised,  and  would  have 
killed  Alexander  before  he  could  have  turned  to 
defend  himself,  had  no  help  intervened ;  but 
just  at  this  instant  a  third  combatant,  one  of 
Alexander's  friends,  seeing  the  danger,  brought 
down  so  terrible  a  blow  upon  the  shoulder  of 
this  second  assailant  as  to  separate  his  arm  from 
his  body. 

Such  are  the  stories  that  are  told.  They 
may  have  been  literally  and  fully  true,  or  they 
may  have  been  exaggerations  of  circumstances 
somewhat  resembling  them  which  really  occur- 
red, or  they  may  have  been  fictitious  altogeth- 
er. Great  generals,  like  other  great  men,  have 
often  the  credit  of  many  exploits  which  they 
never  perform.  It  is  the  special  business  of 
poets  and  historians  to  magnify  and  embellish 
the  actions  of  the  great,  and  this  art  was  un*- 
derstood  as  well  in  ancient  days  as  it  is  now. 


112     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Results  of  the  battle.  Spoils  sent  to  Greece. 

We  must  remember,  too,  in  reading  the  ac- 
counts of  these  transactions,  that  it  is  only  the 
Greek  side  of  the  story  that  we  hear.  The 
Persian  narratives  have  not  come  down  to  us. 

At  any  rate,  the  Persian  army  was  defeated, 
and  that,  too,  without  the  assistance  of  the  phal- 
anx. The  horsemen  and  the  light  troops  were 
alone  engaged.  The  phalanx  could  not  be  form- 
ed, nor  could  it  act  in  such  a  position.  The 
men,  on  emerging  from  the  water,  had  to  climb 
up  the  banks,  and  rush  on  to  the  attack  of  an 
enemy  consisting  of  squadrons  of  horse  ready  to 
dash  at  once  upon  them. 

The  Persian  army  was  defeated  and  driven 
away.  Alexander  did  not  pursue  them.  He 
felt  that  he  had  struck  a  very  heavy  blow.  The 
news  of  this  defeat  of  the  Persians  would  go 
with  the  speed  of  the  wind  all  over  Asia  Minor, 
and  operate  most  powerfully  in  his  favor.  He 
sent  home  to  Greece  an  account  of  the  victory, 
and  with  the  account  he  forwarded  three  hun- 
dred suits  of  armor,  taken  from  the  Persian 
horsemen  killed  on  the  field.  These  suits  of  ar- 
mor were  to  be  hung  up  in  the  Parthenon,  a 
great  temple  at  Athens ;  the  most  conspicuous 
position  for  them,  perhaps,  which  all  Europe 
could  afford. 


B.C. 334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  113 

Memnon  overruled.  Alexander  visits  the  wounded. 

-  The  name  of  the  Persian  general  who  com- 
manded at  the  battle  of  the  Granicus  was  Mem- 
non. He  had  been  opposed  to  the  plan  of  haz- 
arding a  battle.  Alexander  had  come  to  Asia 
with  no  provisions  and  no  money.  He  had  re- 
lied on  being  able  to  sustain  his  army  by  his 
victories.  Memnon,  therefore,  strongly  urged 
that  the  Persians  should  retreat  slowly,  carry- 
ing off  all  the  valuable  property,  and  destroying 
all  that  could  not  be  removed,  taking  especial 
care  to  leave  no  provisions  behind  them.  In 
this  way  he  thought  that  the  army  of  Alexan- 
der would  be  reduced  by  privation  and  want, 
and  would,  in  the  end,  fall  an  easy  prey.  His 
opinion  was,  however,  overruled  by  the  views 
of  the  other  commanders,  and  the  battle  of  the 
Granicus  was  the  consequence. 

Alexander  encamped  to  refresh  his  army  and 
to  take  care  of  the  wounded.  He  went  to  see 
the  wounded  men  one  by  one,  inquired  into  the 
circumstances  of  each  case,  and  listened  to  each 
one  who  was  able  to  talk,  while  he  gave  an  ac- 
count of  his  adventures-  in  the  battle,  and  the 
manner  in  which  he  received  his  wound.  To 
be  able  thus  to  tell  their  story  to  their  general, 
and  to  see  him  listening  to  it  with  interest  and 
pleasure,  filled  their  hearts  with  pride  and  joy ; 
H 


114    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  334. 

Alexander  resumes  his  march.  The  country  surrenders. 

and  the  whole  army  was  inspired  with  the  high- 
est spirit  of  enthusiasm,  and  with  eager  desires 
to  have  another  opportunity  occur  in  which  they 
could  encounter  danger  and  death  in  the  service 
of  such  a  leader.  It  is  in  such  traits  as  these 
that  the  true  greatness  of  the  soul  of  Alexander 
shines.  It  must  be  remembered  that  all  this 
time  he  was  but  little  more  than  twenty-one. 
He  was  but  just  of  age. 

From  his  encampment  on  the  Granicus  Alex- 
ander turned  to  the  southward,  and  moved  along 
on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  .ZEgean  Sea.  The 
country  generally  surrendered  to  him  without 
opposition.  In  fact,  it  was  hardly  Persian  ter- 
ritory at  all.  The  inhabitants  were  mainly  of 
Greek  extraction,  and  had  been  sometimes 
under  Greek  and  sometimes  under  Persian  rule. 
The  conquest  of  the  country  resulted  simply  in 
a  change  of  the  executive  officer  of  each  prov- 
ince. Alexander  took  special  pains  to  lead  the 
people  to  feel  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear  from 
him.  He  would  not  allow  the  soldiers  to  do 
any  injury.  He  protected  all  private  property. 
He  took  possession  only  of  the  citadels,  and  of 
such  governmental  property  as  he  found  there, 
and  he  continued  the  same  taxes,  the  same 
laws,  and  the  same  tribunals  as  had  existed  be- 


B.C.  334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  115 

Incidents.  Alexander's  generosity. 

fore  his  invasion.  The  cities  and  the  provinces 
accordingly  surrendered  to  him  as  he  passed 
along,  and  in  a  very  short  time  all  the  western 
part  of  Asia  Minor  submitted  peacefully  to  his 
sway. 

The  narrative  of  this  progress,  as  given  by 
the  ancient  historians,  is  diversified  by  a  great 
variety  of  adventures  and  incidents,  which  give 
great  interest  to  the  story,  and  strikingly  illus- 
trate the  character  of  Alexander  and  the  spirit 
of  the  times.  In  some  places  there  would  be  a 
contest  between  the  Greek  and  the  Persian 
parties  before  Alexander's  arrival.  At  Ephe- 
sus  the  animosity  had  been  so  great  that  a  sort 
of  civil  war  had  broken  out.  The  Greek  party 
had  gained  the  ascendency,  and  were  threaten- 
ing a  general  massacre  of  the  Persian  inhab- 
itants. Alexander  promptly  interposed  to  pro- 
tect them,  though  they  were  his  enemies.  The 
intelligence  of  this  act  of  forbearance  and  gen- 
erosity spread  all  over  the  land,  and  added  great- 
ly to  the  influence  of  Alexander's  name,  and  to 
the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held. 

It  was  the  custom  in  those  days  for  the  mass 
of  the  common  soldiers  to  be  greatly  influenced 
by  what  they  called  o??iens,  that  is,  signs  and 
tokens  which  they  observed  in  the  flight  or  the 


116    Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  334. 

Omens.  The  eagle  on  the  mast.  Interpretations. 

actions  of  birds,  and  other  similar  appearances. 
In  one  case,  the  fleet,  which  had  come  along  the 
sea,  accompanying  the  march  of  the  army  on 
land,  was  pent  up  in  a  harbor  by  a  stronger 
Persian  fleet  outside.  One  of  the  vessels  of  the 
Macedonian  fleet  was  aground.  An  eagle  light- 
ed upon  the  mast,  and  stood  perched  there  for 
a  long  time,  looking  toward  the  sea.  Parme- 
nio  said  that,  as  the  eagle  looked  toward  the 
sea,  it  indicated  that  victory  lay  in  that  quar- 
ter, and  he  recommended  that  they  should  arm 
their  ships  and  push  boldly  out  to  attack  the 
Persians.  But  Alexander  maintained  that,  as 
the  eagle  alighted  on  a  ship  which  was  aground, 
it  indicated  that  they  were  to  look  for  their  suc- 
cess on  the  shore.  The  omens  could  thus  al- 
most always  be  interpreted  any  way,  and  sa- 
gacious generals  only  sought  in  them  the  means 
of  confirming  the  courage  and  confidence  of 
their  soldiers,  in  respect  to  the  plans  which  they 
adopted  under  the  influence  of  other  considera- 
tions altogether.  Alexander  knew  very  well 
that  he  was  not  a  sailor,  and  had  no  desire  to 
embark  in  contests  from  which,  however  they 
might  end,  he  would  himself  personally  obtain 
no  glory. 

When  the  winter  came  on,  Alexander  and 


B.C.334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  117 

Approach  of  winter.  The  newly  married  permitted  to  go  home, 

his  army  were  about  three  or  four  hundred  miles 
from  home ;  and,  as  he  did  not  intend  to  ad- 
vance much  farther  until  the  spring  should  open, 
he  announced  to  the  army  that  all  those  persons, 
both  officers  and  soldiers,  who  had  been  married 
within  the  year,  might  go  home  if  they  chose, 
and  spend  the  winter  with  their  brides,  and 
return  to  the  army  in  the  spring.  No  doubt 
this  was  an  admirable  stroke  of  policy ;  for,  as 
the  number  could  not  be  large,  their  absence 
could  not  materially  weaken  his  force,  and  they 
would,  of  course,  fill  all  Greece  with  tales  of 
Alexander's  energy  and  courage,  and  of  the 
nobleness  and  generosity  of  his  character.  It 
was  the  most  effectual  way  possible  of  dissemi- 
nating through  Europe  the  most  brilliant  ac- 
counts of  what  he  had  already  done. 

Besides,  it  must  have  awakened  a  new  bond 
of  sympathy  and  fellow-feeling  between  himself 
and  his  soldiers,  and  greatly  increased  the  at- 
tachment to  him  felt  both  by  those  who  went 
and  those  who  remained.  And  though  Alex- 
ander must  have  been  aware  of  all  these  advant- 
ages of  the  act,  still  no  one  could  have  thought  of 
or  adopted  such  a  plan  unless  he  was  accustomed 
to  consider  and  regard,  in  his  dealings  with  oth- 
ers, the  feelings  and  affections  of  the  heart,  and 


118     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  334. 

A  detachment  of  bridegrooms.  Taurus. 

to  cherish  a  warm  sympathy  for  them.  The 
bridegroom  soldiers,  full  of  exultation  and  pleas- 
ure, set  forth  on  their  return  to  Greece,  in  a  de- 
tachment under  the  charge  of  three  generals, 
themselves  bridegrooms  too. 

Alexander,  however,  had  no  idea  of  remain- 
ing idle  during  the  winter.  He  marched  on 
from  province  to  province,  and  from  city  to  city, 
meeting  with  every  variety  of  adventures.  He 
went  first  along  the  southern  coast,  until  at 
length  he  came  to  a  place  where  a  mountain 
chain,  called  Taurus,  comes  down  to  the  sea- 
coast,  where  it  terminates  abruptly  in  cliffs  and 
precipices,  leaving  only  a  narrow  beach  between 
them  and  the  water  below.  This  beach  was 
sometimes  covered  and  sometimes  bare.  It  is 
true,  there  is  very  little  tide  in  the  Mediterra- 
nean, but  the  level  of  the  water  along  the  shores 
is  altered  considerably  by  the  long-continued 
pressure  exerted  in  one  direction  or  another  by 
winds  and  storms.  The  water  was  up  when 
Alexander  reached  this  pass ;  still  he  determin- 
ed to  march  his  army  through  it.  There  was 
another  way,  back  among  the  mountains,  but 
Alexander  seemed  disposed  to  gratify  the  love 
of  adventure  which  his  army  felt,  by  introducing 
them  to  a  novel  scene  of  danger.     They  accord- 


B.C.  334.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  119 

;e  through  the  sea.  Hardships.  The  Meander. 


ingly  defiled  along  under  these  cliffs,  marching, 
as  they  say,  sometimes  up  to  the  waist  in  wa- 
ter, the  swell  rolling  in  upon  them  all  the  time 
from  the  offing. 

Having  at  length  succeeded  in  passing  safely 
round  this  frowning  buttress  of  the  mountains, 
Alexander  turned  northward,  and  advanced  into 
the  very  heart  of  Asia  Minor.  In  doing  this  he 
had  to  pass  over  the  range  which  he  had  come 
round  before ;  and,  as  it  was  winter,  his  army 
were,  for  a  time,  enveloped  in  snows  and  storms 
among  the  wild  and  frightful  defiles.  They  had 
here,  in  addition  to  the  dangers  and  hardships 
of  the  way  and  of  the  season,  to  encounter  the 
hostility  of  their  foes,  as  the  tribes  who  inhab- 
ited these  mountains  assembled  to  dispute  the 
passage.  Alexander  was  victorious,  and  reach- 
ed a  valley  through  which  there  flows  a  river 
which  has  handed  down  its  name  to  the  English 
language  and  literature.  This  river  was  the 
Meander.  Its  beautiful  windings  through  ver- 
dant and  fertile  valleys  were  so  renowned,  that 
every  stream  which  imitates  its  example  is  said 
to  meander  to  the  present  day. 

During  all  this  time  Parmenio  had  remained 
in  the  western  part  of  Asia  Minor  with  a  con- 
siderable body  of  the  army.     As  the  spring  ap- 


120      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C. 333. 

Gordium.  Story  of  the  Gordian  knot. 

proached,  Alexander  sent  him  orders  to  go  to 
Gordium,  whither  he  was  himself  proceeding, 
and  meet  him  there.  He  also  directed  that  the 
detachment  which  had  gone  home  should,  on 
recrossing  the  Hellespont  on  their  return,  pro- 
ceed eastward  to  Gordium,  thus  making  that 
city  the  general  rendezvous  for  the  commence- 
ment  of  his  next  campaign. 

One  reason  why  Alexander  desired  to  go  to 
Gordium  was  that  he  wished  to  untie  the  fa- 
mous Gordian  knot.  The  story  of  the  Gordian 
knot  was  this.  Gordius  was  a  sort  of  mountain 
farmer.  One  day  he  was  plowing,  and  an  eagle 
came  down  and  alighted  upon  his  yoke,  and  re- 
mained there  until  he  had  finished  his  plowing. 
This  was  an  omen,  but  what  was  the  significa- 
tion of  it  ?  Gordius  did  not  know,  and  he  ac- 
cordingly went  to  a  neighboring  town  in  order 
to  consult  the  prophets  and  soothsayers.  On 
his  way  he  met  a  damsel,  who,  like  Rebecca  in 
the  days  of  Abraham,  was  going  forth  to  draw 
water.  Gordius  fell  into  conversation  with  her, 
and  related  to  her  the  occurrence  which  had  in- 
terested him  so  strongly.  The  maiden  advised 
him  to  go  back  and  offer  a  sacrifice  to  Jupiter. 
Finally,  she  consented  to  go  back  with  him  and 
aid  him.     The  affair  ended  in  her  becoming  his 


B.C.333.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  121 


Gordius  made  king. 


wife,  and  they  lived  together  in  peace  for  many 
years  upon  their  farm. 

They  had  a  son  named  Midas.  The  father 
and  mother  were  accustomed  to  go  out  some- 
times in  their  cart  or  wagon,  drawn  by  the  oxen, 
Midas  driving.  One  day  they  were  going  into 
the  town  in  this  way,  at  a  time  when  it  hap- 
pened that  there  was  an  assembly  convened, 
which  was  in  a  state  of  great  perplexity  on  ac- 
count of  the  civil  dissensions  and  contests  which 
prevailed  in  the  country.  They  had  just  in- 
quired of  an  oracle  what  they  should  do.  The 
oracle  said  that  "  a  cart  would  bring  them  a 
king,  who  would  terminate  their  eternal  broils." 
Just  then  Midas  came  up,  driving  the  cart  in 
which  his  father  and  mother  were  seated.  The 
assembly  thought  at  once  that  this  must  be  the 
cart  meant  by  the  oracle,  and  they  made  Gor- 
dius king  by  acclamation.  They  took  the  cart 
and  the  yoke  to  preserve  as  sacred  relics,  con- 
secrating them  to  Jupiter ;  and  Gordius  tied 
the  yoke  to  the  pole  of  the  cart  by  a  thong  of 
leather,  making  a  knot  so  close  and  complicated 
that  nobody  could  untie  it  again.  It  was  called 
the  Gordian  knot.  The  oracle  afterward  said 
that  whoever  should  untie  this  knot  should  be- 


122    Alexander   the   Great.   [B.C.  333. 

Alexander  cuts  the  knot  He  resumes  his  march. 

come  monarch  of  all  Asia.     Thus  far,  nobody 
had  succeeded. 

Alexander  felt  a  great  desire  to  see  this  knot 
and  try  what  he  could  do.  He  went,  accordingly, 
into  the  temple  where  the  sacred  cart  had  been 
deposited,  and,  after  looking  at  the  knot,  and 
satisfying  himself  that  the  task  of  untying  it 
was  hopeless,  he  cut  it  to  pieces  with  his  sword. 
How  far  the  circumstances  of  this  whole  story 
are  true,  and  how  far  fictitious,  no  one  can  tell ; 
the  story  itself,  however,  as  thus  related,  has 
come  down  from  generation  to  generation,  in 
every  country  of  Europe,  for  two  thousand  years, 
and  any  extrication  of  one's  self  from  a  difficulty 
by  violent  means  has  been  called  cutting  the 
Gordian  knot  to  the  present  day. 

At  length  the  whole  army  was  assembled, 
and  the  king  recommenced  his  progress.  He 
went  on  successfully  for  some  weeks,  moving  in 
a  southeasterly  direction,  and  bringing  the  whole 
country  under  his  dominion,  until,  at  length, 
when  he  reached  Tarsus,  an  event  occurred 
which  nearly  terminated  his  career.  There 
were  some  circumstances  which  caused  him  to 
press  forward  with  the  utmost  effort  in  approach- 
ing Tarsus,  and,  as  the  day  was  warm,  he  got 
very  much  overcome  with  heat  and  fatigue.     In 


B.C.  333.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.   125 


Alexander's  bath  in  the  Cydnus. 


this  state,  he  went  and  plunged  suddenly  into 
the  River  Cydnus  to  bathe. 

Now  the  Cydnus  is  a  small  stream,  flowing 
by  Tarsus,  and  it  comes  down  from  Mount  Tau- 
rus at  a  short  distance  back  from  the  city. 
Such  streams  are  always  very  cold.  Alexander 
was  immediately  seized  with  a  very  violent  chill, 
and  was  taken  out  of  the  water  shivering  ex- 
cessively, and,  at  length,  fainted  away.  They 
thought  he  was  dying.  They  bore  him  to  his 
tent,  and,  as  tidings  of  their  leader's  danger 
spread  through  the  camp,  the  whole  army,  offi- 
cers and  soldiers,  were  thrown  into  the  greatest 
consternation  and  grief. 

A  violent  and  protracted  fever  came  on.  In 
the  course  of  it,  an  incident  occurred  which 
strikingly  illustrates  the  boldness  and  original- 
ity of  Alexander's  character.  The  name  of  his 
physician  was  Philip.  Philip  had  been  pre- 
paring a  particular  medicine  for  him,  which,  it 
seems,  required  some  days  to  make  ready.  Just 
before  it  was  presented,  Alexander  received  a 
letter  from  Parmenio,  informing  him  that  he 
had  good  reason  to  believe  that  Philip  had  been 
bribed  by  the  Persians  to  murder  him,  during 
his  sickness,  by  administering  poison  in  the 
name  of  medicine.     He  wrote,  he  said,  to  put 


126    Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C.  333. 

Alexander's  physician  Philip.  Suspicions  of  poison. 

him  on  his  guard  against  any  medicine  which 
Philip  might  offer  him. 

Alexander  put  the  letter  under  his  pillow,  and 
communicated  its  contents  to  no  one.  At  length, 
when  the  medicine  was  ready,  Philip  brought  it 
in.  Alexander  took  the  cup  containing  it  with 
one  hand,  and  with  the  other  he  handed  Philip 
the  communication  which  he  had  received  from 
Parmenio,  saying,  "  Read  that  letter."  As  soon 
as  Philip  had  finished  reading  it,  and  was  ready 
to  look  up,  Alexander  drank  off  the  draught  in 
full,  and  laid  down  the  cup  with  an  air  of  per- 
fect confidence  that  he  had  nothing  to  fear. 

Some  persons  think  that  Alexander  watched 
the  countenance  of  his  physician  while  he  was 
reading  the  letter,  and  that  he  was  led  to  take 
the  medicine  by  his  confidence  in  his  power  to 
determine  the  guilt  or  the  innocence  of  a  person 
thus  accused  by  his  looks.  Others  suppose  that 
the  act  was  an  expression  of  his  implicit  faith 
in  the  integrity  and  fidelity  of  his  servant,  and 
that  he  intended  it  as  testimony,  given  in  a  very 
pointed  and  decisive,  and,  at  the  same  time,  del- 
icate manner,  that  he  was  not  suspicious  of  his 
friends,  or  easily  led  to  distrust  their  faithful- 
ness. Philip  was,  at  any  rate,  extremely  grat- 
ified at  the  procedure,  and  Alexander  recovered. 


B.C.  333.]  Campaign  in  Asia  Minor.  127 

Asia  subdued.  The  plain  of  Issus. 

Alexander  had  now  traversed  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  Asia  Minor,  and  had  subdued  the  entire 
country  to  his  sway.  He  was  now  advancing 
to  another  district,  that  of  Syria  and  Palestine, 
which  lies  on  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea.  To  enter  this  new  territory,  he  had 
to  pass  over  a  narrow  plain  which  lay  between 
the  mountains  and  the  sea,  at  a  place  called  Is- 
sus. Here  he  was  met  by  the  main  body  of  the 
Persian  army,  and  the  great  battle  of  Issus  was 
fought.  This  battle  will  be  the  subject  of  the 
next  chapter. 


128     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Darius's  opinion  of  Alexander.  He  prepares  to  meet  him. 


Chapter  VI. 
Defeat  of  Darius. 

THUS  far  Alexander  had  had  only  the  lieu- 
tenants and  generals  of  the  Persian  mon- 
arch to  contend  with.  Darius  had  at  first  looked 
upon  the  invasion  of  his  vast  dominions  by  such 
a  mere  boy,  as  he  called  him,  and  by  so  small 
an  army,  with  contempt.  He  sent  word  to  his 
generals  in  Asia  Minor  to  seize  the  young  fool, 
and  send  him  to  Persia  bound  hand  and  foot. 
By  the  time,  however,  that  Alexander  had  pos- 
sessed himself  of  all  Asia  Minor,  Darius  began 
to  find  that,  though  young,  he  was  no  fool,  and 
that  it  was  not  likely  to  be  very  easy  to  seize 
him. 

Accordingly,  Darius  collected  an  immense 
army  himself,  and  advanced  to  meet  the  Mace- 
donians in  person.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
pomp  and  magnificence  of  his  preparations. 
There  were  immense  numbers  of  troops,  and 
they  were  of  all  nations.  There  were  even  a 
great  many  Greeks  among  his  forces,  many  of 
them  enlisted  from  the  Greeks  of  Asia  Minor. 
There  were  some  from  Greece  itself — mercena- 


B.C.  333]    Defeat  of  Darius.  129 

Greek  mercenaries.  Counsel  of  Charidemus. 

ries,  as  they  were  called ;  that  is,  soldiers  who 
fought  for  pay,  and  who  were  willing  to  enter 
into  any  service  which  would  pay  them  best. 

There  were  even  some  Greek  officers  and 
counselors  in  the  family  and  court  of  Darius. 
One  of  them,  named  Charidemus,  offended  the 
king  very  much  by  the  free  opinion  which  he 
expressed  of  the  uselessness  of  all  his  pomp  and 
parade  in  preparing  for  an  encounter  with  such 
an  enemy  as  Alexander.  "  Perhaps,"  said  Char- 
idemus, "  you  may  not  be  pleased  with  my 
speaking  to  you  plainly,  but  if  I  do  not  do  it 
now,  it  will  be  too  late  hereafter.  This  great 
parade  and  pomp,  and  this  enormous  multitude 
of  men,  might  be  formidable  to  your  Asiatic 
neighbors  ;  but  such  sort  of  preparation  will  be 
of  little  avail  against  Alexander  and  his  Greeks. 
Your  army  is  resplendent  with  purple  and  gold. 
No  one  who  had  not  seen  it  could  conceive  of 
its  magnificence  ;  but  it  will  not  be  of  any  avail 
against  the  terrible  energy  of  the  Greeks.  Their 
minds  are  bent  on  something  very  different  from 
idle  show.  They  are  intent  on  securing  the  sul> 
stantial  excellence  of  their  weapons,  and  on  ac- 
quiring the  discipline  and  the  hardihood  essen^ 
tial  for  the  most  efficient  use  of  them.  They 
will  despise  all  your  parade  of  purple  and  gold. 
I 


130     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Durius's  displeasure  at  Charidemus.  He  condemns  him  to  death. 

They  will  not  even  value  it  as  plunder.  They 
glory  in  their  ability  to  dispense  with  all  the 
luxuries  and  conveniences  of  life.  They  live 
upon  the  coarsest  food.  At  night  they  sleep 
upon  the  bare  ground.  By  day  they  are  always 
on  the  march.  They  brave  hunger,  cold,  and 
every  species  of  exposure  with  pride  and  pleas- 
ure, having  the  greatest  contempt  for  any  thing 
like  softness  and  effeminacy  of  character.  All 
this  pomp  and  pageantry,  with  inefficient  weap- 
ons, and  inefficient  men  to  wield  them,  will  be 
of  no  avail  against  their  invincible  courage  and 
energy ;  and  the  best  disposition  that  you  can 
make  of  all  your  gold,  and  silver,  and  other 
treasures,  is  to  send  it  away  and  procure  good 
soldiers  with  it,  if  indeed  gold  and  silver  will 
procure  them." 

The  Greeks  were  habituated  to  energetic 
speaking  as  well  as  acting,  but  Charidemus  did 
not  sufficiently  consider  that  the  Persians  were 
not  accustomed  to  hear  such  plain  language  as 
this.  Darius  was  very  much  displeased.  In 
his  anger  he  condemned  him  to  death.  "Very 
well,"  said  Charidemus,  "  I  can  die.  But  my 
avenger  is  at  hand.  My  advice  is  good,  and 
Alexander  will  soon  punish  you  for  not  regard- 
ing it." 


B.C.333.]    Defeat   op   Darius.  131 

Magnificence  of  Darius's  army.  Worship  of  the  sun. 

Very  gorgeous  descriptions  are  given  of  the 
pomp  and  magnificence  of  the  army  of  Darius, 
as  he  commenced  his  march  from  the  Euphra- 
tes to  the  Mediterranean.  The  Persians  wor- 
ship the  sun  and  fire.  Over  the  king's  tent 
there  was  an  image  of  the  sun  in  crystal,  and 
supported  in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  in  the  view 
of  the  whole  army.  They  had  also  silver  altars, 
on  which  they  kept  constantly  burning  what 
they  called  the  sacred  fire.  These  altars  were 
borne  by  persons  appointed  for  the  purpose,  who 
were  clothed  in  magnificent  costumes.  Then 
came  a  long  procession  of  priests  and  magi,  who 
were  dressed  also  in  very  splendid  robes.  They 
performed  the  services  of  public  worship.  Fol- 
lowing them  came  a  chariot  consecrated  to  the 
sun.  It  was  drawn  by  white  horses,  and  was 
followed  by  a  single  white  horse  of  large  size 
and  noble  form,  which  was  a  sacred  animal,  be- 
ing called  the  horse  of  the  sun.  The  equerries, 
that  is,  the  attendants  who  had  charge  of  this 
horse,  were  also  all  dressed  in  white,  and  each 
carried  a  golden  rod  in  his  hand. 

There  were  bodies  of  troops  distinguished 
from  the  rest,  and  occupying  positions  of  high 
honor,  but  these  were  selected  and  advanced 
above  the  others,  not  on  account  of  their  cour- 


132      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 

The  Kinsmen.  The  Immortals.  Appearance  of  Darius. 

age,  or  strength,  or  superior  martial  efficiency, 
but  from  considerations  connected  with  their 
birth,  and  rank,  and  other  aristocratic  qualities. 
There  was  one  body  called  the  Kinsmen,  who 
were  the  relatives  of  the  king,  or,  at  least,  so  con- 
sidered, though,  as  there  were  fifteen  thousand 
of  them,  it  would  seem  that  the  relationship 
could  not  have  been,  in  all  cases,  very  near. 
They  were  dressed  with  great  magnificence, 
and  prided  themselves  on  their  rank,  their 
wealth,  and  the  splendor  of  their  armor.  There 
was  also  a  corps  called  the  Immortals.  They 
were  ten  thousand  in  number.  They  wore  a 
dress  of  gold  tissue,  which  glittered  with  span- 
gles and  precious  stones. 

These  bodies  of  men,  thus  dressed,  made  an 
appearance  more  like  that  of  a  civic  procession, 
on  an  occasion  of  ceremony  and  rejoicing,  than 
like  the  march  of  an  army.  The  appearance  of 
the  king  in  his  chariot  was  still  more  like  an 
exhibition  of  pomp  and  parade.  The  carriage 
was  very  large,  elaborately  carved  and  gilded, 
and  ornamented  with  statues  and  sculptures. 
Here  the  king  sat  on  a  very  elevated  seat,  in 
sight  of  all.  He  was  clothed  in  a  vest  of  pur- 
ple, striped  with  silver,  and  over  his  vest  he 
wore  a  robe  glittering  with  gold  and  precious 


B.C.333.]    Defeat  op   Darius.  133 

Costly  apparel  of  Darius.  His  family. 

stones.  Around  his  waist  was  a  golden  girdle, 
from  which  was  suspended  his  cimeter — a  spe- 
cies of  sword — the  scabbard  of  which  was  re- 
splendent with  gems.  He  wore  a  tiara  upon 
his  head  of  very  costly  and  elegant  workman- 
ship, and  enriched,  like  the  rest  of  his  dress, 
with  brilliant  ornaments.  The  guards  who 
preceded  and  followed  him  had  pikes  of  silver, 
mounted  and  tipped  with  gold. 

It  is  very  extraordinary  that  King  Darius 
took  his  wife  and  all  his  family  with  him,  and 
a  large  portion  of  his  treasures,  on  this  expedi- 
tion against  Alexander.  His  mother,  whose 
name  was  Sysigambis,  was  in  his  family,  and 
she  and  his  wife  came,  each  in  her  own  chariot, 
immediately  after  the  king.  Then  there  were 
fifteen  carriages  filled  with  the  children  and 
their  attendants,  and  three  or  four  hundred  la- 
dies of  the  court,  all  dressed  like  queens.  After 
the  family  there  came  a  train  of  many  hun- 
dreds of  camels  and  mules,  carrying  the  royal 
treasures. 

It  was  in  this  style  that  Darius  set  out  upon 
his  expedition,  and  he  advanced  by  a  slow  prog- 
ress toward  the  westward,  until  at  length  he 
approached  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.     He  left  his  treasures  in  the  city  of  Da- 


134     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 


Darius  advances  to  meet  Alexander. 


Map  of  the  plain  of  Issns. 


mascus,  where  they  were  deposited  under  the 
charge  of  a  sufficient  force  to  protect  them,  as 
he  supposed.  He  then  advanced  to  meet  Alex- 
ander, going  himself  from  Syria  toward  Asia 
Minor  just  at  the  time  that  Alexander  was 
coming  from  Asia  Minor  into  Syria. 


Plain  of  Issus. 

It  will  be  observed  by  looking  upon  the  map, 


B.C.  333.]    Defeat    of    Darius.  135 

Mount  Taurus.  Route  of  Darius. 

that  the  chain  of  mountains  called  Mount  Tau- 
rus extends  down  near  to  the  coast,  at  the 
northeastern  corner  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Among  these  mountains  there  are  various  tracts 
of  open  country,  through  which  an  army  may 
march  to  and  fro,  between  Syria  and  Asia  Mi- 
nor. Now  it  happened  that  Darius,  in  going 
toward  the  west,  took  a  more  inland  route  than 
Alexander,  who,  on  coming  eastward,  kept  near- 
er to  the  sea.  Alexander  did  not  know  that 
Darius  was  so  near  ;  and  as  for  Darius,  he  was 
confident  that  Alexander  was  retreating  before 
him ;  for,  as  the  Macedonian  army  was  so  small, 
and  his  own  forces  constituted  such  an  innu- 
merable host,  the  idea  that  Alexander  would 
remain  to  brave  a  battle  was,  in  his  opinion,  en- 
tirely out  of  the  question.  He  had,  therefore, 
no  doubt  that  Alexander  was  retreating.  It  is, 
of  course,  always  difficult  for  two  armies,  fifty 
miles  apart,  to  obtain  correct  ideas  of  each  oth- 
er's movements.  All  the  ordinary  intercommu- 
nications of  the  country  are  of  course  stopped, 
and  each  general  has  his  scouts  out,  with  or- 
ders to  intercept  all  travelers,  and  to  interrupt 
the  communication  of  intelligence  by  every 
means  in  their  power. 

In  consequence  of  these  and  other  circum- 


136     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  333. 

Situation  of  Issus.  The  armies  pass  each  other. 

stances  of  a  similar  nature,  it  happened  that 
Alexander  and  Darius  actually  passed  each  oth- 
er, without  either  of  them  being  aware  of  it. 
Alexander  advanced  into  Syria  by  the  plains  of 
Issus,  marked  a  upon  the  map,  and  a  narrow 
pass  beyond,  called  the  Gates  of  Syria,  while 
Darius  went  farther  to  the  north,  and  arrived 
at  Issus  after  Alexander  had  left  it.  Here  each 
army  learned  to  their  astonishment  that  their 
enemy  was  in  their  rear.  Alexander  could  not 
credit  this  report  when  he  first  heard  it.  He 
dispatched  a  galley  with  thirty  oars  along  the 
shore,  up  the  Gulf  of  Issus,  to  ascertain  the 
truth.  The  galley  soon  came  back  and  report- 
ed that,  beyond  the  Gates  of  Syria,  they  saw 
the  whole  country,  which  was  nearly  level  land, 
though  gently  rising  from  the  sea,  covered  with 
the  vast  encampments  of  the  Persian  army. 

The  king  then  called  his  generals  and  coun- 
selors together,  informed  them  of  the  facts,  and 
made  known  to  them  his  determination  to  re- 
turn immediately  through  the  Gates  of  Syria 
and  attack  the  Persian  army.  The  officers  re- 
ceived the  intelligence  with  enthusiastic  ex- 
pressions of  joy. 

It  was  now  near  the  evening.  Alexander 
sent  forward  a  strong  reconnoitering  party,  or- 


B.C.  333.]   Defeat    of    Darius.  137 

Reconnoitering  parties.  A  camp  at  night. 

dering  them  to  proceed  cautiously,  to  ascend 
eminences  and  look  far  before  them,  to  guard 
carefully  against  surprise,  and  to  send  back 
word  immediately  if  they  came  upon  any  traces 
of  the  enemy.  At  the  present  day  the  opera- 
tions of  such  a  reconnoitering  party  are  very 
much  aided  by  the  use  of  spy-glasses,  which  are 
made  now  with  great  care  expressly  for  milita- 
ry purposes.  The  instrument,  however,  was 
not  known  in  Alexander's  day. 

When  the  evening  came  on,  Alexander  fol- 
lowed the  reconnoitering  party  with  the  main 
body  of  the  army.  At  midnight  they  reached 
the  defile.  When  they  were  secure  in  the  pos- 
session of  it,  they  halted.  Strong  watches  were 
stationed  on  all  the  surrounding  heights  to  guard 
against  any  possible  surprise.  Alexander  him- 
self ascended  one  of  the  eminences,  from  whence 
he  could  look  down  upon  the  great  plain  beyond, 
which  was  dimly  illuminated  in  every  part  by 
the  smouldering  fires  of  the  Persian  encamp- 
ment. An  encampment  at  night  is  a  spectacle 
which  is  always  grand,  and  often  sublime.  It 
must  have  appeared  sublime  to  Alexander  in 
the  highest  degree,  on  this  occasion.  To  stand 
stealthily  among  these  dark  and  somber  mount- 
ains, with  the  defiles  and  passes  below  filled 


138     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  333. 

The  night  before  the  battle.  Sublime  and  solemn  scenes. 

with  the  columns  of  his  small  but  undaunted 
army,  and  to  look  onward,  a  few  miles  beyond, 
and  see  the  countless  fires  of  the  vast  hosts 
which  had  got  between  him  and  all  hope  of  re- 
treat to  his  native  land ;  to  feel,  as  he  must 
have  done,  that  his  fate,  and  that  of  all  who 
were  with  him,  depended  upon  the  events  of 
the  day  that  was  soon  to  dawn — to  see  and  feel 
these  things  must  have  made  this  night  one  of 
the  most  exciting  and  solemn  scenes  in  the  con- 
queror's life.  He  had  a  soul  to  enjoy  its  ex- 
citement and  sublimity.  He  gloried  in  it ;  and, 
as  if  he  wished  to  add  to  the  solemnity  of  the 
scene,  he  caused  an  altar  to  be  erected,  and  of- 
fered a  sacrifice,  by  torch-light,  to  the  deities  on 
whose  aid  his  soldiers  imagined  themselves  most 
dependent  for  success  on  the  morrow.  Of  course 
a  place  was  selected  where  the  lights  of  the 
torches  would  not  attract  the  attention  of  the 
enemy,  and  sentinels  were  stationed  at  every 
advantageous  point  to  watch  the  Persian  camp 
for  the  slightest  indications  of  movement  or 
alarm. 

In  the  morning,  at  break  of  day,  Alexander 
commenced  his  march  down  to  the  plain.  In 
the  evening,  at  sunset,  all  the  valleys  and  denies 
among  the  mountains  around  the  plain  of  Issus 


B.C.  333.]    Defeat  of   Darius.  139 

Defeat  of  the  Persians.  Flight  of  Darius. 

were  thronged  with  vast  masses  of  the  Persian 
army,  broken,  disordered,  and  in  confusion,  all 
pressing  forward  to  escape  from  the  victorious 
Macedonians.  They  crowded  all  the  roads,  they 
choked  up  the  mountain  passes,  they  trampled 
upon  one  another,  they  fell,  exhausted  with  fa- 
tigue and  mental  agitation.  Darius  was  among 
them,  though  his  flight  had  been  so  sudden  that 
he  had  left  his  mother,  and  his  wife,  and  all  his 
family  behind.  He  pressed  on  in  his  chariot  as 
far  as  the  road  allowed  his  chariot  to  go,  and 
then,  leaving  every  thing  behind,  he  mounted 
a  horse  and  rode  on  for  his  life. 

Alexander  and  his  army  soon  abandoned  the 
pursuit,  and  returned  to  take  possession  of  the 
Persian  camp.  The  tents  of  King  Darius  and 
his  household  were  inconceivably  splendid,  and 
were  filled  with  gold  and  silver  vessels,  caskets, 
vases,  boxes  of  perfumes,  and  every  imaginable 
article  of  luxury  and  show.  The  mother  and 
wife  of  Darius  bewailed  their  hard  fate  with 
cries  and  tears,  and  continued  all  the  evening 
in  an  agony  of  consternation  and  despair. 

Alexander,  hearing  of  this,  sent  Leonnatus, 
his  former  teacher,  a  man  of  years  and  gravity, 
to  quiet  their  fears  and  comfort  them,  so  far  as 
it  was  possible  to  comfort  them.     In  addition 


140    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  333. 

The  mother  and  wife  of  Darius  taken  captive.  Their  grief. 

to  their  own  captivity,  they  supposed  that  Da- 
rius was  killed,  and  the  mother  was  mourning 
bitterly  for  her  son,  and  the  wife  for  her  hus- 
band. Leonnatus,  attended  by  some  soldiers, 
advanced  toward  the  tent  where  these  mourn- 
ers were  dwelling.  The  attendants  at  the  door 
ran  in  and  informed  them  that  a  body  of  Greeks 
were  coming.  This  threw  them  into  the  great- 
est consternation.  They  anticipated  violence 
and  death,  and  threw  themselves  upon  the 
ground  in  agony.  Leonnatus  waited  some  time 
at  the  door  for  the  attendants  to  return.  At 
length  he  entered  the  tent.  This  renewed  the 
terrors  of  the  women.  They  began  to  entreat 
him  to  spare  their  lives,  at  least  until  there 
should  be  time  for  them  to  see  the  remains  of 
the  son  and  husband  whom  they  mourned,  and 
to  pay  the  last  sad  tribute  to  his  memory. 

Leonnatus  soon  relieved  their  fears.  He  told 
them  that  he  was  charged  by  Alexander  to  say 
to  them  that  Darius  was  alive,  having  made  his 
escape  in  safety.  As  to  themselves,  Alexander 
assured  them,  he  said,  that  they  should  not  be 
injured ;  that  not  only  were  their  persons  and 
lives  to  be  protected,  but  no  change  was  to  be 
made  in  their  condition  or  mode  of  life ;  they 
should  continue  to  be  treated  like  queens.     He 


B.C.  333.]    Defeat  of  Darius.  141 

Alexander's  kindness  to  the  captives.  Hephsestion. 

added,  moreover,  that  Alexander  wished  him  to 
say  that  he  felt  no  animosity  or  ill  will  whatev- 
er against  Darius.  He  was  but  technically  his 
enemy,  being  only  engaged  in  a  generous  and 
honorable  contest  with  him  for  the  empire  of 
Asia.  Saying  these  things,  Leonnatus  raised 
the  disconsolate  ladies  from  the  ground,  and  they 
gradually  regained  some  degree  of  composure. 

Alexander  himself  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  the 
captive  princesses  the  next  day.  He  took  with 
him  Hephsestion.  Hephsestion  was  Alexander's 
personal  friend.  The  two  young  men  were  of 
the  same  age,  and,  though  Alexander  had  the 
good  sense  to  retain  in  power  all  the  old  and 
experienced  officers  which  his  father  had  em- 
ployed, both  in  the  court  and  army,  he  showed 
that,  after  all,  ambition  had  not  overwhelmed 
and  stifled  all  the  kindlier  feelings  of  the  heart, 
by  his  strong  attachment  to  this  young  compan- 
ion. Hephsestion  was  his  confidant,  his  asso- 
ciate, his  personal  friend.  He  did  what  very 
few  monarchs  have  done,  either  before  or  since, 
in  securing  for  himself  the  pleasures  of  friend- 
ship, and  of  intimate  social  communion  with  a 
heart  kindred  to  his  own,  without  ruining  him- 
self by  committing  to  a  favorite  powers  which 
he  was  not  qualified  to  wield.     Alexander  left 


142     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Alexander's  interview  with  the  queens.  A  mistake. 

the  wise  and  experienced  Parmenio  to  manage 
the  camp,  while  he  took  the  young  and  hand- 
some Hephaestion  to  accompany  him  on  his  visit 
to  the  captive  queens. 

When  the  two  friends  entered  the  tent,  the 
ladies  were,  from  some  cause,  deceived,  and  mis- 
took Hephaestion  for  Alexander,  and  addressed 
him,  accordingly,  with  tokens  of  high  respect  and 
homage.  One  of  their  attendants  immediately 
rectified  the  mistake,  telling  them  that  the  oth- 
er was  Alexander.  The  ladies  were  at  first  over- 
whelmed with  confusion,  and  attempted  to  apol- 
ogize ;  but  the  king  reassured  them  at  once  by 
the  easy  and  good-natured  manner  with  which 
he  passed  over  the  mistake,  saying  it  was  no 
mistake  at  all.  "It  is  true,"  said  he,  "that  I 
am  Alexander,  but  then  he  is  Alexander  too." 

The  wife  of  Darius  was  young  and  very  beau- 
tiful, and  they  had  a  little  son  who  was  with 
them  in  the  camp.  It  seems  almost  unaccount- 
able that  Darius  should  have  brought  such  a 
helpless  and  defenseless  charge  with  him  into 
camps  and  fields  of  battle.  But  the  truth  was 
that  he  had  no  idea  of  even  a  battle  with  Alex- 
ander, and  as  to  defeat,  he  did  not  contemplate 
the  remotest  possibility  of  it.  He  regarded  Al- 
exander as  a  mere  boy — energetic  and  daring, 


B.C.  333.]    Defeat  of  Darius.  143 

Boldness  of  Alexander's  policy.  Number  of  Persians  slain. 


it  is  true,  and  at  the  head  of  a  desperate  band 
of  adventurers ;  but  he  considered  his  whole 
force  as  altogether  too  insignificant  to  make  any 
stand  against  such  a  vast  military  power  as  he 
was  bringing  against  him.  He  presumed  that 
he  would  retreat  as  fast  as  possible  before  the 
Persian  army  came  near  him.  The  idea  of 
such  a  boy  coming  down  at  break  of  day,  from 
narrow  defiles  of  the  mountains,  upon  his  vast 
encampment  covering  all  the  plains,  and  in 
twelve  hours  putting  the  whole  mighty  mass 
to  flight,  was  what  never  entered  his  imagina- 
tion at  all.  The  exploit  was,  indeed,  a  very  ex- 
traordinary one.  Alexander's  forces  may  have 
consisted  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand  men,  and, 
if  we  may  believe  their  story,  there  were  over 
a  hundred  thousand  Persians  left  dead  upon  the 
field.  Many  of  these  were,  however,  killed  by 
the  dreadful  confusion  and  violence  of  the  retreat, 
as  vast  bodies  of  horsemen,  pressing  through  the 
defiles,  rode  over  and  trampled  down  the  foot 
soldiers  who  were  toiling  in  awful  confusion 
along  the  way,  having  fled  before  the  horsemen 
left  the  field. 

Alexander  had  heard  that  Darius  had  left  the 
greater  part  of  his  royal  treasures  in  Damas- 
cus, and  he  sent  Parmenio  there  to  seize  them. 


144    Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  333. 

Capture  of  immense  treasure.  Negotiations. 


This  expedition  was  successful.  An  enormous 
amount  of  gold  and  silver  fell  into  Alexander's 
hands.  The  plate  was  coined  into  money,  and 
many  of  the  treasures  were  sent  to  Greece. 

Darius  got  together  a  small  remnant  of  his 
army  and  continued  his  flight.  He  did  not 
stop  until  he  had  crossed  the  Euphrates.  He 
then  sent  an  embassador  to  Alexander  to  make 
propositions  for  peace.  He  remonstrated  with 
him,  in  the  communication  which  he  made,  for 
coming  thus  to  invade  his  dominions,  and  urged 
him  to  withdraw  and  be  satisfied  with  his  own 
kingdom.  He  offered  him  any  sum  he  might 
name  as  a  ransom  for  his  mother,  wife,  and 
child,  and  agreed  that  if  he  would  deliver  them 
up  to  him  on  the  payment  of  the  ransom,  and 
depart  from  his  dominions,  he  would  thenceforth 
regard  him  as  an  ally  and  a  friend. 

Alexander  replied  by  a  letter,  expressed  in 
brief  but  very  decided  language.  He  said  that 
the  Persians  had,  under  the  ancestors  of  Dari- 
us, crossed  the  Hellespont,  invaded  Greece,  laid 
waste  the  country,  and  destroyed  cities  and 
towns,  and  had  thus  done  them  incalculable  in- 
jury ;  and  that  Darius  himself  had  been  plotting 
against  his  (Alexander's)  life,  and  offering  re- 
wards to  anv  one  who  would  kill  him.     "  I  am 


B.C.  333.]    Defeat    of    Darius.  145 

Alexander's  message  to  Darius.  Grecian  captives. 

acting,  then,"  continued  Alexander,  "  only  on 
the  defensive.  The  gods,  who  always  favor  the 
right,  have  given  me  the  victory.  I  am  now 
monarch  of  a  large  part  of  Asia,  and  your  sov- 
ereign king.  If  you  will  admit  this,  and  come 
to  me  as  my  subject,  I  will  restore  to  you  your 
mother,  your  wife,  and  your  child,  without  any 
ransom.  And,  at  any  rate,  whatever  you  de- 
cide in  respect  to  these  proposals,  if  you  wish 
to  communicate  with  me  on  any  subject  here- 
after, I  shall  pay  no  attention  to  what  you  send 
unless  you  address  it  to  me  as  your  king." 

One  circumstance  occurred  at  the  close  of 
this  great  victory  which  illustrates  the  magna- 
nimity of  Alexander's  character,  and  helps  to  ex- 
plain the  very  strong  personal  attachment  which 
every  body  within  the-  circle  of  his  influence  so 
obviously  felt  for  him.  He  found  a  great  num- 
ber of  envoys  and  embassadors  from  the  various 
states  of  Greece  at  the  Persian  court,  and  these 
persons  fell  into  his  hands  among  the  other 
captives.  Now  the  states  and  cities  of  Greece, 
all  except  Sparta  and  Thebes,  which  last  city 
he  had  destroyed,  were  combined  ostensibly  in 
the  confederation  by  which  Alexander  was  sus- 
tained. It  seems,  however,  that  there  was  a 
secret  enmity  against  him  in  Greece,  and  vari- 
K 


146     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  333. 

The  Theban  envoys.  Alexander's  victorious  progress. 

ous  parties  had  sent  messengers  and  agents  to 
the  Persian  court  to  aid  in  plots  and  schemes 
to  interfere  with  and  defeat  Alexander's  plans. 
The  Thebans,  scattered  and  disorganized  as  they 
were,  had  sent  envoys  in  this  way.  Now  Al- 
exander, in  considering  what  disposition  he 
should  make  of  these  emissaries  from  his  own 
land,  decided  to  regard  them  all  as  traitors  ex- 
cept the  Thebans.  All  except  the  Thebans 
were  traitors,  he  maintained,  for  acting  secret- 
ly against  him,  while  ostensibly,  and  by  solemn 
covenants,  they  were  his  friends.  "  The  case 
of  the  Thebans  is  very  different,"  said  he.  "  I 
have  destroyed  their  city,  and  they  have  a  right 
to  consider  me  their  enemy,  and  to  do  all  they 
can  to  oppose  my  progress,  and  to  regain  their 
own  lost  existence  and  their  former  power."  So 
he  gave  them  their  liberty  and  sent  them  away 
with  marks  of  consideration  and  honor. 

As  the  vast  army  of  the  Persian  monarch 
had  now  been  defeated,  of  course  none  of  the 
smaller  kingdoms  or  provinces  thought  of  resist- 
ing. They  yielded  one  after  another,  and  Al- 
exander appointed  governors  of  his  own  to  rule 
over  them.  He  advanced  in  this  manner  along 
the  eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea, 
meeting  with  no  obstruction  until  he  reached 
the  great  and  powerful  city  of  Tyre. 


B.C.  333.]  The    Siege    of    Tyre.  147 

The  city  of  Tyre.  Its  situation  and  extent 


Chapter  VII. 

The    Siege    of    Tyre. 

FIlHE  city  of  Tyre  stood  on  a  small  island, 
■*-  three  or  four  miles  in  diameter,*  on  the 
eastern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  It 
was,  in  those  days,  the  greatest  commercial  city 
in  the  world,  and  it  exercised  a  great  maritime 
power  by  means  of  its  fleets  and  ships,  which 
traversed  every  part  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Tyre  had  been  built  originally  on  the  main- 
land ;  but  in  some  of  the  wars  which  it  had  to 
encounter  with  the  kings  of  Babylon  in  the 
East,  this  old  city  had  been  abandoned  by  the 
inhabitants,  and  a  new  one  built  upon  an  isl- 
and not  far  from  the  shore,  which  could  be  more 
easily  defended  from  an  enemy.  The  old  city 
had  gone  to  ruin,  and  its  place  was  occupied  by 
old  walls,  fallen  towers,  stones,  columns,  arch- 
es, and  other  remains  of  the  ancient  magnifi- 
cence of  the  place. 

The  island  on  which  the  Tyre  of  Alexander's 

There  are  different  statements  in  respect  to  the  size  of 
this  island,  varying  from  three  to  nine  miles  in  circumference. 


148    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Pursuits  of  the  Tynans.  Their  great  wealth  aud  resources. 

day  had  been  built  was  about  half  a  mile  from 
the  shore.  The  water  between  was  about 
eighteen  feet  deep,  and  formed  a  harbor  for  the 
vessels.  The  great  business  of  the  Tyrians 
was  commerce.  They  bought  and  sold  mer- 
chandise in  all  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean 
Sea,  and  transported  it  by  their  merchant  ves- 
sels to  and  fro.  They  had  also  fleets  of  war 
galleys,  which  they  used  to  protect  their  inter- 
ests on  the  high  seas,  and  in  the  various  ports 
which  their  merchant  vessels  visited.  They 
were  thus  wealthy  and  powerful,  and  yet  they 
lived  shut  up  upon  their  little  island,  and  were 
almost  entirely  independent  of  the  main-land. 

The  city  itself,  however,  though  contracted 
in  extent  on  account  of  the  small  dimensions 
of  the  island,  was  very  compactly  built  and 
strongly  fortified,  and  it  contained  a  vast  num- 
ber of  stately  and  magnificent  edifices,  which 
were  filled  with  stores  of  wealth  that  had  been 
accumulated  by  the  mercantile  enterprise  and 
thrift  of  many  generations.  Extravagant  sto- 
ries are  told  by  the  historians  and  geographers 
of  those  days,  in  respect  to  the  scale  on  which 
the  structures  of  Tyre  were  built.  •  It  was  said, 
for  instance,  that  the  walls  were  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  high.     It  is  true  that  the  walls 


B.C. 333.]  The    Siege    of    Tyre.  149 


The  walls  of  Tyre.  Influence  and  power  of  Tyre. 

rose  directly  from  the  surface  of  the  water,  and 
of  course  a  considerable  part  of  their  elevation 
was  required  to  bring  them  up  to  the  level  of 
the  surface  of  the  land ;  and  then,  in  addition  to 
this,  they  had  to  be  carried  up  the  whole  ordi- 
nary height  of  a  city  wall  to  afford  the  usual 
protection  to  the  edifices  and  dwellings  within. 
There  might  have  been  some  places  where  the 
walls  themselves,  or  structures  connected  with 
them,  were  carried  up  to  the  elevation  above 
named,  though  it  is  scarcely  to  be  supposed  that 
such  could  have  been  their  ordinary  dimensions. 
At  any  rate,  Tyre  was  a  very  wealthy,  mag- 
nificent, and  powerful  city,  intent  on  its  com- 
mercial  operations,    and    well    furnished   with 
means  of  protecting  them  at  sea,  but  feeling 
little  interest,  and  taking  little  part,  in  the  con- 
tentions continually   arising  among  the   rival 
powers  which  had  possession  of  the  land.    Their 
policy  was  to  retain  their  independence,  and  yet 
to  keep  on  good  terms  with  all  other  powers, 
so  that  their  commercial  intercourse  with  the 
ports  of  all  nations  might  go  on  undisturbed. 

It  was,  of  course,  a  very  serious  question 
with  Alexander,  as  his  route  lay  now  through 
Phoenicia  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tyre,  what 
he  should  do  in  respect  to  such  a  port.     He  did 


150    Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Alexander  hesitates  in  regard  to  Tyre.  Presents  from  the  Tynans. 

not  like  to  leave  it  behind  him  and  proceed  to 
the  eastward ;  for,  in  case  of  any  reverses  hap- 
pening to  him,  the  Tyrians  would  be  very  like- 
ly to  act  decidedly  against  him,  and  their  pow- 
er on  the  Mediterranean  would  enable  them  to 
act  very  efficiently  against  him  on  all  the  coasts 
of  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  On  the  other  hand, 
it  seemed  a  desperate  undertaking  to  attack  the 
city.  He  had  none  but  land  forces,  and  the  isl- 
and was  half  a  mile  from  the  shore.  Besides 
its  enormous  walls,  rising  perpendicularly  out  of 
the  water,  it  was  defended  by  ships  well  armed 
and  manned.  It  was  not  possible  to  surround 
the  city  and  starve  it  into  submission,  as  the 
inhabitants  had  wealth  to  buy,  and  ships  to 
bring  in,  any  quantity  of  provisions  and  stores 
by  sea.  Alexander,  however,  determined  not 
to  follow  Darius  toward  the  east,  and  leave  such 
a  stronghold  as  this  behind  him. 

The  Tyrians  wished  to  avoid  a  quarrel  if  it 
were  possible.  They  sent  complimentary  mes- 
sages to  Alexander,  congratulating  him  on  his 
conquests,  and  disavowing  all  feelings  of  hostil- 
ity to  him.  They  also  sent  him  a  golden  crown, 
as  many  of  the  other  states  of  Asia  had  done, 
in  token  of  their  yielding  a  general  submission 
to  his  authority.     Alexander  returned  very  gra- 


B.C.  333.]  The    Siege    of    Tyre.  151 

Alexander  refused  admittance  into  Tyre.  He  resolves  to  attack  it. 


cious  replies,  and  expressed  to  them  his  inten- 
tion of  coming  to  Tyre  for  the  purpose  of  offer- 
ing sacrifices,  as  he  said,  to  Hercules,  a  god 
whom  the  Tyrians  worshiped. 

The  Tyrians  knew  that  wherever  Alexander 
went  he  went  at  the  head  of  his  army,  and  his 
coming  into  Tyre  at  all  implied  necessarily  his 
taking  military  possession  of  it.  They  thought 
it  might,  perhaps,  be  somewhat  difficult  to  dis- 
possess such  a  visitor  after  he  should  once  get 
installed  in  their  castles  and  palaces.  So  they 
sent  him  word  that  it  would  not  be  in  their 
power  to  receive  him  in  the  city  itself,  but  that 
he  could  offer  the  sacrifice  which  he  intended  on 
the  main-land,  as  there  was  a  temple  sacred  to 
Hercules  among  the  ruins  there. 

Alexander  then  called  a  council  of  his  offi- 
cers, and  stated  to'them  his  views.  He  said 
that,  on  reflecting  fully  upon  the  subject,  he  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  best  to  post- 
pone pushing  his  expedition  forward  into  the 
heart  of  Persia  until  he  should  have  subdued 
Tyre  completely,  and  made  himself  master  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  He  said,  also,  that  he 
should  take  possession  of  Egypt  before  turning 
his  arms  toward  the  forces  that  Darius  was 
gathering  against  him  in  the  East.     The  gen- 


152    Alexander   the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Alexander's  plan.  Its  difficulties  and  dangers. 

erals  of  the  army  concurred  in  this  opinion,  and 
Alexander  advanced  toward  Tyre.  The  Tyri- 
ans  prepared  for  their  defense. 

After  examining  carefully  all  the  circumstan- 
ces of  the  case,  Alexander  conceived  the  very 
bold  plan  of  building  a  broad  causeway  from  the 
main-land  to  the  island  on  which  the  city  was 
founded,  out  of  the  ruins  of  old  Tyre,  and  then 
marching  his  army  over  upon  it  to  the  walls  of 
the  city,  where  he  could  then  plant  his  engines 
and  make  a  breach.  This  would  seem  to  be  a 
very  desperate  undertaking.  It  is  true  the 
stones  remaining  on  the  site  of  the  old  city  af- 
forded sufficient  materials  for  the  construction 
of  the  pier,  but  then  the  work  must  go  on  against 
a  tremendous  opposition,  both  from  the  walls  of 
the  city  itself  and  from  the  Tyrian  ships  in  the 
harbor.  It  would  seem  to  be  almost  impossible 
to  protect  the  men  from  these  attacks  so  as  to 
allow  the  operations  to  proceed  at  all,  and  the 
difficulty  and  danger  must  increase  very  rapidly 
as  the  work  should  approach  the  walls  of  the 
city.  But,  notwithstanding  these  objections, 
Alexander  determined  to  proceed.  Tyre  must 
be  taken,  and  this  was  obviously  the  only  pos- 
sible mode  of  taking  it. 

The  soldiers  advanced  to  undertake  the  work 


B.C.  333.]    The  Siege  of  Tyre.  153 


Enthusiasm  of  the  army. Construction  of  the  pier. 

with  great  readiness.  Their  strong  personal  at- 
tachment to  Alexander ;  their  confidence  that 
whatever  he  should  plan  and  attempt  would 
succeed  ;  the  novelty  and  boldness  of  this  design 
of  reaching  an  island  by  building  an  isthmus  to 
it  from  the  main-land — these  and  other  similar 
considerations  excited  the  ardor  and  enthusiasm 
of  the  troops  to  the  highest  degree. 

In  constructing  works  of  this  kind  in  the  wa- 
ter, the  material  used  is  sometimes  stone  and 
sometimes  earth.  So  far  as  earth  is  employed, 
it  is  necessary  to  resort  to  some  means  to  pre- 
vent its  spreading  under  the  water,  or  being 
washed  away  by  the  dash  of  the  waves  at-  its 
sides.  This  is  usually  effected  by  driving  what 
are  called  piles,  which  are  long  beams  of  wood, 
pointed  at  the  end,  and  driven  into  the  earth  by 
means  of  powerful  engines.  Alexander  sent 
parties  of  men  into  the  mountains  of  Lebanon, 
where  were  vast  forests  of  cedars,  which  were 
very  celebrated  in  ancient  times,  and  which  are 
often  alluded  to  in  the  sacred  scriptures.  They 
cut  down  these  trees,  and  brought  the  stems  of 
them  to  the  shore,  where  they  sharpened  them 
at  one  end  and  drove  them  into  the  sand,  in  or- 
der to  protect  the  sides  of  their  embankment. 
Others  brought  stones  from  the  ruins  and  turn- 


154     Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C.  333. 

Progress  of  the  work.  Counter  operations  of  the  Tyrians. 

bled  them  into  the  sea  in  the  direction  where 
the  pier  was  to  be  built.  It  was  some  time  be- 
fore the  work  made  such  progress  as  to  attract 
much  attention  from  Tyre.  At  length,  howev- 
er, when  the  people  of  the  city  saw  it  gradually 
increasing  in  size  and  advancing  toward  them, 
they  concluded  that  they  must  engage  in  earn- 
est in  the  work  of  arresting  its  progress. 

They  accordingly  constructed  engines  on  the 
walls  to  throw  heavy  darts  and  stones  over  the 
water  to  the  men  upon  the  pier.  They  sent 
secretly  to  the  tribes  that  inhabited  the  valleys 
and  ravines  among  the  mountains,  to  attack 
the  parties  at  work  there,  and  they  landed  for- 
ces from  the  city  at  some  distance  from  the 
pier,  and  then  marched  along  the  shore,  and  at- 
tempted to  drive  away  the  men  that  were  en- 
gaged in  carrying  stones  from  the  ruins.  They 
also  fitted  up  and  manned  some  galleys  of  large 
size,  and  brought  them  up  near  to  the  pier  it- 
self, and  attacked  the  men  who  were  at  work 
upon  it  with  stones,  darts,  arrows,  and  missiles 
of  every  description. 

But  all  was  of  no  avail.  The  work,  though 
impeded,  still  went  on.  Alexander  built  large 
screens  of  wood  upon  the  pier,  covering  them 
with  hides,  which  protected  his  soldiers  from  the 


B.C.  333.]    The  Siege  of  Tyre.  155 

Structures  erected  on  the  pier.  The  Tyrians  fit  up  a  fire  ship. 

weapons  of  the  enemy,  so  that  they  could  carry 
on  their  operations  safely  behind  them.  By 
these  means  the  work  advanced  for  some  dis- 
tance further.  As  it  advanced,  various  struc- 
tures were  erected  upon  it,  especially  along  the 
sides  and  at  the  end  toward  the  city.  These 
structures  consisted  of  great  engines  for  driving 
piles,  and  machines  for  throwing  stones  and 
darts,  and  towers  carried  up  to  a  great  height, 
to  enable  the  men  to  throw  stones  and  heavy 
weapons  down  upon  the  galleys  which  might 
attempt  to  approach  them. 

At  length  the  Tyrians  determined  on  attempt- 
ing to  destroy  all  these  wooden  works  by  means 
of  what  is  called  in  modern  times  a  fire  ship. 
They  took  a  large  galley,  and  filled  it  with  com- 
bustibles of  every  Jpnd.  They  loaded  it  first 
with  light  dry  wood,  and  they  poured  pitch,  and 
tar,  and  oil  over  all  this  wood  to  make  it  burn 
with  fiercer  flames.  They  saturated  the  sails 
and  the  cordage  in  the  same  manner,  and  laid 
trains  of  combustible  materials  through  all  parts 
of  the  vessel,  so  that  when  fire  should  be  set  in 
one  part  it  would  immediately  spread  every 
where,  and  set  the  whole  mass  in  flames  at 
once.  They  towed  this  ship,  on  a  windy  day, 
near  to  the  enemy's  works,  and  on  the  side  from 


156    Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  333. 

The  ship  fired  and  set  adrift.  The  conflagration. 

which  the  wind  was  blowing.  They  then  put 
it  in  motion  toward  the  pier  at  a  point  where 
there  was  the  greatest  collection  of  engines  and 
machines,  and  when  they  had  got  as  near  as 
they  dared  to  go  themselves,  the  men  who  were 
on  board  set  the  trains  on  fire,  and  made  their 
escape  in  boats.  The  flames  ran  all  over  the 
vessel  with  inconceivable  rapidity.  The  vessel 
itself  drifted  down  upon  Alexander's  works,  not- 
withstanding the  most  strenuous  exertions  of 
his  soldiers  to  keep  it  away.  The  frames  and 
engines,  and  the  enormous  and  complicated  ma- 
chines which  had  been  erected,  took  fire,  and 
the  whole  mass  was  soon  enveloped  in  a  gener- 
al conflagration. 

The  men  made  desperate  attempts  to  defend 
their  works,  but  all  in  vain.  Some  were  killed 
by  arrows  and  darts,  some  were  burned  to 
death,  and  others,  in  the  confusion,  fell  into 
the  sea.  Finally,  the  army  was  obliged  to  draw 
back,  and  to  abandon  all  that  was  combustible 
in  the  vast  construction  they  had  reared,  to  the 
devouring  flames. 

Not  long  after  this  the  sea  itself  came  to  the 
aid  of  the  Tyrians.  There  was  a  storm  ;  and, 
as  a  consequence  of  it,  a  heavy  swell  rolled  in 
from  the  offing,  which   soon  undermined   and 


B.C.  333.]   The 

Siege 

of 

Tyre.           159 

Effects  of  the  storm. 

The  work  began  anew. 

washed  away  a  large  part  of  the  pier.  The  ef- 
fects of  a  heavy  sea  on  the  most  massive-  and 
substantial  structures,  when  they  are  fairly  ex- 
posed to  its  impulse,  are  far  greater  than  would 
be  conceived  possible  by  those  who  had  not  wit- 
nessed them.  The  most  ponderous  stones  are 
removed,  the  strongest  fastenings  are  torn  asun- 
der, and  embankments  the  most  compact  and 
solid  are  undermined  and  washed  away.  The 
storm,  in  this  case,  destroyed  in  a  few  hours  the 
work  of  many  months,  while  the  army  of  Alex- 
ander looked  on  from  the  shore  witnessing  its 
ravages  in  dismay. 

When  the  storm  was  over,  and  the  first  shock 
of  chagrin  and  disappointment  had  passed  from 
the  minds  of  the  men,  Alexander  prepared  to 
resume  the  work  with  fresh  vigor  and  energy. 
The  men  commenced  repairing  the  pier  and  wid- 
ening it,  so  as  to  increase  its  strength  and  capac- 
ity. They  dragged  whole  trees  to  the  edges  of 
it,  and  sunk  them,  branches  and  all,  to  the  bot- 
tom, to  form  a  sort  of  platform  there,  to  prevent 
the  stones  from  sinking  into  the  slime.  They 
built  new  towers  and  engines,  covering  them 
with  green  hides  to  make  them  fire-proof;  and 
thus  they  were  soon  advancing  again,  and 
gradually  drawing  nearer  to  the  city,  and  in  a 


160      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Alexander  collects  a  fleet.  Warlike  engines. 

more  threatening  and  formidable  manner  than 
ever. 

Alexander,  finding  that  his  efforts  were  im- 
peded very  much  by  the  ships  of  the  Tyrians, 
determined  on  collecting  and  equipping  a  fleet 
of  his  own.  This  he  did  at  Sidon,  which  was 
a  town  a  short  distance  north  of  Tyre.  He  em- 
barked on  board  this  fleet  himself,  and  came 
down  with  it  into  the  Tyrian  seas.  With  this 
fleet  he  had  various  success.  He  chained  many 
of  the  ships  together,  two  and  two,  at  a  little 
distance  apart,  covering  the  inclosed  space  with 
a  platform,  on  which  the  soldiers  could  stand  to 
fight.  The  men  also  erected  engines  on  these 
platforms  to  attack  the  city.  These  engines 
were  of  various  kinds.  There  was  what  they 
called  the  battering  ram,  which  was  a  long  and 
very  heavy  beam  of  wood,  headed  with  iron  or 
brass.  This  beam  was  suspended  by  a  chain 
in  the  middle,  so  that  it  could  be  swung  back 
and  forth  by  the  soldiers,  its  head  striking 
against  the  wall  each  time,  by  which  means 
the  wall  would  sometimes  be  soon  battered  down. 
They  had  also  machines  for  throwing  great 
stones,  or  beams  of  wood,  by  means  of  the  elas- 
tic force  of  strong  bars  of  wood,  or  of  steel,  or 
that  of  twisted  ropes.     The  part  of  the  machine 


B.C.  333.]  The    Siege    op    Tyre.  161 

Double  galleys.  The  women  removed  from  Tyre. 

upon  which  the  stone  was  placed  would  be 
drawn  back  by  the  united  strength  of  many  of 
the  soldiers,  and  then,  as  it  recovered  itself  when 
released,  the  stone  would  be  thrown  off  into  the 
air  with  prodigious  velocity  and  force. 

Alexander's  double  galleys  answered  very 
well  as  long  as  the  water  was  smooth ;  but 
sometimes,  when  they  were  caught  out  in  a 
swell,  the  rolling  of  the  waves  would  rack  and 
twist  them  so  as  to  tear  the  platforms  asun- 
der, and  sink  the  men  in  the  sea.  Thus  diffi- 
culties unexpected  and  formidable  were  contin- 
ually arising.  Alexander,  however,  persevered 
through  them  all.  The  Tyrians,  finding  them- 
selves pressed  more  and  more,  and  seeing  that 
the  dangers  impending  became  more  and  more 
formidable  every  day^  at  length  concluded  to 
send  a  great  number  of  the  women  and  children 
away  to  Carthage,  which  was  a  great  commer- 
cial city  in  Africa.  They  were  determined  not 
to  submit  to  Alexander,  but  to  carry  their  re- 
sistance to  the  very  last  extremity.  And  as 
the  closing  scenes  of  a  siege,  especially  if  the 
place  is  at  last  taken  by  storm,  are  awful  be- 
yond description,  they  wished  to  save  their  wives, 
and  daughters,  and  helpless  babes  from  having 
to  witness  them. 

L 


162     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C. 333. 

The  siege  advances.  Undaunted  courage  of  the  Tynans. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  the  siege  advanced,  the 
parties  became  more  and  more  incensed  against 
each  other.  They  treated  the  captives  which 
they  took  on  either  side  with  greater  and  great- 
er cruelty,  each  thinking  that  they  were  only 
retaliating  worse  injuries  from  the  other.  The 
Macedonians  approached  nearer  and  nearer. 
The  resources  of  the  unhappy  city  were  gradu- 
ally cut  off  and  its  strength  worn  away.  The 
engines  approached  nearer  and  nearer  to  the 
walls,  until  the  battering  rams  bore  directly 
upon  them,  and  breaches  began  to  be  made. 
At  length  one  great  breach  on  the  southern  side 
was  found  to  be  "practicable,"  as  they  call  it. 
Alexander  began  to  prepare  for  the  final  assault, 
and  the  Tyrians  saw  before  them  the  horrible 
prospect  of  being  taken  by  storm. 

Still  they  would  not  submit.  Submission 
would  now  have  done  but  little  good,  though  it 
might  have  saved  some  of  the  final  horrors  of 
the  scene.  Alexander  had  become  greatly  ex- 
asperated by  the  long  resistance  which  the  Tyr- 
ians had  made.  They  probably  could  not  now 
have  averted  destruction,  but  they  might,  per- 
haps, have  prevented  its  coming  upon  them  in 
so  terrible  a  shape  as  the  irruption  of  thirty 
thousand  frantic  and  infuriated  soldiers  through 


B.C.  oSo.]   The    Siege    of    Tyre.  1(53 

A  breach  made.  The  assault 

the  breaches  in  their  walls  to  take  their  city  by 
storm. 

The  breach  by  which  Alexander  proposed  to 
force  his  entrance  was  on  the  southern  side.  He 
prepared  a  number  of  ships,  with  platforms  rais- 
ed upon  them  in  such  a  manner  that,  on  getting 
near  the  walls,  they  could  be  let  down,  and 
form  a  sort  of  bridge,  over  which  the  men  could 
pass  to  the  broken  fragments  of  the  wall,  and 
thence  ascend  through  the  bieach  above. 

The  plan  succeeded.  The  ships  advanced  to 
the  proposed  place  of  landing.  The  bridges 
were  let  down.  The  men  crowded  over  them 
to  the  foot  of  the  wall.  They  clambered  up 
through  the  breach  to  the  battlements  above, 
although  the  Tyrians  thronged  the  passage  and 
made  the  most  desperate  resistance.  Hundreds 
were  killed  by  darts,  and  arrows,  and  falling 
stones,  and  their  bodies  tumbled  into  the  sea. 
The  others,  paying  no  attention  to  their  falling 
comrades,  and  drowning  the  horrid  screams  of 
the  crushed  and  the  dying  with  their  own  fran- 
tic shouts  of  rage  and  fury,  pressed  on  up  the 
broken  wall  till  they  reached  the  battlements 
above.  The  vast  throng  then  rolled  along  upon 
the  top  of  the  wall  till  they  came  to  stairways 
and  slopes  by  which  they  could  descend  into  the 


164    Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  333. 

Storming  the  city.  Barbarous  cruelties  of  Alexander. 

city,  and,  pouring  down  through  all  these  ave- 
nues, they  spread  over  the  streets,  and  satiated 
the  hatred  and  rage,  which  had  been  gathering 
strength  for  seven  long  months,  in  bursting  into 
houses,  and  killing  and  destroying  all  that  came 
in  their  way.     Thus  the  city  was  stormed. 

After  the  soldiers  were  weary  with  the  work 
of  slaughtering  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  the 
city,  they  found  that  many  still  remained  alive, 
and  Alexander  tarnished  the  character  for  gen- 
erosity and  forbearance  for  which  he  had  thus 
far  been  distinguished  by  the  cruelty  with  which 
he  treated  them.  Some  were  executed,  some 
thrown  into  the  sea ;  and  it  is  even  said  that 
two  thousand  were  crucified  along  the  sea-shore. 
This  may  mean  that  their  bodies  were  placed 
upon  crosses  after  life  had  been  destroyed  by 
some  more  humane  method  than  crucifixion. 
At  any  rate,  we  find  frequent  indications  from 
this  time  that  prosperity  and  power  were  be- 
ginning to  exert  their  usual  unfavorable  influ- 
ence upon  Alexander's  character.  He  became 
haughty,  imperious,  and  cruel.  He  lost  the 
modesty  and  gentleness  which  seemed  to  char- 
acterize him  in  the  earlier  part  of  his  life,  and 
began  to  assume  the  moral  character,  as  well 
us  perform  the  exploits,  of  a  military  hero. 


B.C.  333.]    The  Siege  op  Tvre.  165 

Change  in  Alexander's  character.  His  harsh  message  to  Darius. 

A  good  illustration  of  this  is  afforded  by  the 
answer  that  he  sent  to  Darius,  about  the  time 
of  the  storming  of  Tyre,  in  reply  to  a  second 
communication  which  he  had  received  from  him 
proposing  terms  of  peace.  Darius  offered  him 
a  very  large  sum  of  money  for  the  ransom  of 
his  mother,  wife,  and  child,  and  agreed  to  give 
up  to  him  all  the  country  he  had  conquered,  in- 
cluding the  whole  territory  west  of  the  Euphra- 
tes. He  also  offered  him  his  daughter  Statira 
in  marriage.  He  recommended  to  him  to  ac- 
cept these  terms,  and  be  content  with  the  pos- 
sessions he  had  already  acquired ;  that  he  could 
not  expect  to  succeed,  if  he  should  try,  in  cross- 
ing the  mighty  rivers  of  the  East,  which  were 
in  the  way  of  his  march  toward  the  Persian  do- 
minions. -- 

Alexander  replied,  that  if  he  wished  to  mar- 
ry his  daughter  he  could  do  it  without  his  con- 
sent ;  as  to  the  ransom,  he  was  not  in  want  of , 
money ;  in  respect  to  Darius's  offering  to  give 
him  up  all  west  of  the  Euphrates,  it  was  ab- 
surd for  a  man  to  speak  of  giving  what  was  no 
longer  his  own ;  that  he  had  crossed  too  many 
seas  in  his  military  expeditions,  since  he  left 
Macedon,  to  feel  any  concern  about  the  rivers 
that  he  might  find  in  his  way;  and  that  he 


166    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  333. 

Alexander's  reply  to  Parmenio.  The  hero  rises,  but  the  man  sinks. 

should  continue  to  pursue  Darius  wherever  he 
might  retreat  in  search  of  safety  and  protection, 
and  he  had  no  fear  but  that  he  should  find  and 
conquer  him  at  last. 

It  was  a  harsh  and  cruel  message  to  send  to 
the  unhappy  monarch  whom  he  had  already  so 
greatly  injured.  Parmenio  advised  him  to  ac- 
cept Darius's  offers.  "  I  would,"  said  he,  "  if 
I  were  Alexander."  "Yes,"  said  Alexander, 
"  and  so  would  I  if  I  were  Parmenio."  What 
a  reply  from  a  youth  of  twenty-two  to  a  vener- 
able general  of  sixty,  who  had  been  so  tried  and 
faithful  a  friend,  and  so  efficient  a  coadjutor  both 
to  his  father  and  to  himself,  for  so  many  years. 

The  siege  and  storming  of  Tyre  has  always 
been  considered  one  of  the  greatest  of  Alexan- 
der's exploits.  The  boldness,  the  perseverance, 
the  indomitable  energy  which  he  himself  and 
all  his  army  manifested,  during  the  seven  months 
of  their  Herculean  toil,  attracted  the  admiration 
of  the  world.  And  yet  we  find  our  feelings  of 
sympathy  for  his  character,  and  interest  in  his 
fate,  somewhat  alienated  by  the  indications  of 
pride,  imperiousness,  and  cruelty  which  begin 
to  appear.  While  he  rises  in  our  estimation  as 
a  military  hero,  he  begins  to  sink  somewhat  as 
a  man. 


B.C.  333.]    The  Siege  of  Tyre.  167 

Lysimachus.  Alexander's  adventure  in  the  mountaina. 

And  yet  the  change  was  not  sudden.  He 
bore  during  the  siege  his  part  in  the  privations 
and  difficulties  which  the  soldiers  had  to  en- 
dure ;  and  the  dangers  to  which  they  had  to  be 
exposed,  he  was  always  willing  to  share.  One 
night  he  was  out  with  a  party  upon  the  mount- 
ains. Among  his  few  immediate  attendants 
was  Lysimachus,  one  of  his  former  teachers, 
who  always  loved  to  accompany  him  at  such 
times.  Lysimachus  was  advanced  in  life,  and 
somewhat  infirm,  and  consequently  could  not 
keep  up  with  the  rest  in  the  march.  Alexan- 
der remained  with  Lysimachus,  and  ordered  the 
rest  to  go  on.  The  road  at  length  became  so 
rugged  that  they  had  to  dismount  from  their 
horses  and  walk.  Finally  they  lost  their  way, 
and  found  themselves  obliged  to  stop  for  the 
night.  They  had  no  fire.  They  saw,  howev- 
er, at  a  distance,  some  camp  fires  blazing  which 
belonged  to  the  barbarian  tribes  against  whom 
the  expedition  was  directed.  Alexander  went 
to  the  nearest  one.  There  were  two  men  lying 
by  it,  who  had  been  stationed  to  take  care  of  it. 
He  advanced  stealthily  to  them  and  killed  them 
both,  probably  while  they  were  asleep.  He  then 
took  a  brand  from  their  fire,  carried  it  back  to 
his  own  encampment,  where  he  made  a  blazing 


168    Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  333. 

What  credit  is  to  be  given  to  the  adventure. 

fire  for  himself  and  Lysimachus,  and  they  passed 
the  night  in  comfort  and  safety.  This  is  the 
story.  How  far  we  are  to  give  credit  to  it,  each 
reader  must  judge  for  himself.  One  thing  is 
certain,  however,  that  there  are  many  military 
heroes  of  whom  such  stories  would  not  be  even 
fabricated. 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander   in  Egypt.         169 

Alexander  in  Judea.  Josephus,  and  the  character  of  his  writings. 


Chapter    VIII. 

Alexander    in    Egypt. 

4  FTER  completing  the  subjugation  of  Tyre, 
-^*-  Alexander  commenced  his  march  for 
Egypt.  His  route  led  him  through  Judea. 
The  time  was  about  three  hundred  years  before 
the  birth  of  Christ,  and,  of  course,  this  passage 
of  the  great  conqueror  through  the  land  of  Isra- 
el took  place  between  the  historical  periods  of 
the  Old  Testament  and  of  the  New,  so  that  no 
account  of  it  is  given  in  the  sacred  volume. 

There  was  a  Jewish  writer  named  Josephus, 
who  lived  and  wrote  ji  few  years  after  Christ, 
and,  of  course,  more  than  three  hundred  years 
after  Alexander.  He  wrote  a  history  of  the 
Jews,  which  is  a  very  entertaining  book  to  read  ; 
but  he  liked  so  much  to  magnify  the  importance 
of  the  events  in  the  history  of  his  country,  and 
to  embellish  them  with  marvelous  and  super- 
natural incidents,  that  his  narratives  have  not 
always  been  received  with  implicit  faith.  Jo- 
sephus says  that,  as  Alexander  passed  through 
Palestine,  he  went  to  pay  a  visit  to  Jerusalem. 


170    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  332. 

Alexander's  visit  to  Jerusalem.  Josephus's  account  of  it 

The  circumstances  of  this  visit,  according  to  his 
account,  were  these. 

The  city  of  Tyre,  before  Alexander  besieged 
it,  as  it  lived  entirely  by  commerce,  and  was 
surrounded  by  the  sea,  had  to  depend  on  the 
neighboring  countries  for  a  supply  of  food.  The 
people  were  accordingly  accustomed  to  purchase 
grain  in  Phoenicia,  in  Judea,  and.  in  Egypt,  and 
transport  it  by  their  ships  to  the  island.  Alex- 
ander, in  the  same  manner,  when  besieging  the 
city,  found  that  he  must  depend  upon  the  neigh- 
boring countries  for  supplies  of  food  ;  and  he  ac- 
cordingly sent  requisitions  for  such  supplies  to 
several  places,  and,  among  others,  to  Judea.  The 
Jews,  as  Josephus  says,  refused  to  send  any 
such  supplies,  saying  that  it  would  be  incon- 
sistent with  fidelity  to  Darius,  under  whose  gov- 
ernment they  were. 

Alexander  took  no  notice  of  this  reply  at  the 
time,  being  occupied  with  the  siege  of  Tyre ; 
but,  as  soon  as  that  city  was  taken,  and  he  was 
ready  to  pass  through  Judea,  he  directed  his 
march  toward  Jerusalem  with  the  intention  of 
destroying  the  city. 

Now  the  chief  magistrate  at  Jerusalem  at 
this  time,  the  one  who  had  the  command  of  the 
city,  ruling  it,  of  course,  under  a  general  re- 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander   in   Egypt.  171 

The  high  priest  Jaddus.  His  dream. 

sponsibility  to  the  Persian  government,  was  the 
high  priest.  His  name  was  Jacidus.  In  the 
time  of  Christ,  about  three  hundred  years  after 
this,  the  name  of  the  high-priest,  as  the  reader 
will  recollect,  was  Caiaphas.  Jaddus  and  all 
the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  were  very  much 
alarmed.  They  knew  not  what  to  do.  The 
siege  and  capture  of  Tyre  had  impressed  them 
all  with  a  strong  sense  of  Alexander's  terrible 
energy  and  martial  power,  and  they  began  to 
anticipate  certain  destruction. 

Jaddus  caused  great  sacrifices  to  be  offered 
to  Almighty  God,  and  public  and  solemn  pray- 
ers were  made,  to  implore  his  guidance  and 
protection.  The  next  day  after  these  services, 
he  told  the  people  that  they  had  nothing  to  fear. 
God  had  appeared  tojiim  in  a  dream,  and  di- 
rected him  what  to  do.  "  We  are  not  to  resist 
the  conqueror,"  said  he,  "  but  to  go  forth  to 
meet  him  and  welcome  him.  We  are  to  strew 
the  city  with  flowers,  and  adorn  it  as  for  a  fes- 
tive celebration.  The  priests  are  to  be  dressed 
in  their  pontifical  robes  and  go  forth,  and  the 
inhabitants  are  to  follow  them  in  a  civic  pro- 
cession. In  this  way  we  are  to  go  out  to  meet 
Alexander  as  he  advances — and  all  will  be  well." 

These  directions  were  followed.     Alexander 


172    Alexander   the   Great.  [B.C.  332. 

The  procession  ol"  priests.  Alexander's  account  of  his  dream. 

was  coming  on  with  a  full  determination  to  de- 
stroy the  city.  When,  however,  he  saw  this 
procession,  and  came  near  enough  to  distinguish 
the  appearance  and  dress  of  the  high  priest,  he 
stopped,  seemed  surprised  and  pleased,  and  ad- 
vanced toward  him  with  an  air  of  the  profound- 
est  deference  and  respect.  He  seemed  to  pay 
him  almost  religious  homage  and  adoration. 
Every  one  was  astonished.  Parmenio  asked 
him  for  an  explanation.  Alexander  made  the 
following  extraordinary  statement : 

"  When  I  was  in  Macedon,  before  setting  out 
on  this  expedition,  while  I  was  revolving  the 
subject  in  my  mind,  musing  day  after  day  on 
the  means  of  conquering  Asia,  one  night  I  had 
a  remarkable  dream.  In  my  dream  this  very 
priest  appeared  before  me,  dressed  just  as  he  is 
now.  He  exhorted  me  to  banish  every  fear,  to 
cross  the  Hellespont  boldly,  and  to  push  forward 
into  the  heart  of  Asia.  He  said  that  God  would 
march  at  the  head  of  my  army,  and  give  me  the 
victory  over  all  the  Persians.  I  recognize  this 
priest  as  the  same  person  that  appeared  to  me 
then.  He  has  the  same  countenance,  the  same 
dress,  the  same  stature,  the  same  air.  It  is 
through  his  encouragement  and  aid  that  I  am 
here,  and  I  am  ready  to  worship  and  adore  the 
God  whose  service  lie  administers." 


B.C. 332.]  Alexander   in  Egypt.  173 

Alexander  joins  in  the  Jewish  ceremonies.  Prophecies  of  Daniel. 

Alexander  joined  the  high  priest  in  the  pro- 
cession, and  they  returned  to  Jerusalem  togeth- 
er. There  Alexander  united  with  them  and 
with  the  Jews  of  the  city  in  the  celebration  of 
religious  rites,  by  offering  sacrifices  and  obla- 
tions in  the  Jewish  manner.  The  writings 
which  are  now  printed  together  in  our  Bibles, 
as  the  Old  Testament,  were,  in  those  days,  writ- 
ten separately  on  parchment  rolls,  and  kept  in 
the  temple.  The  priests  produced  from  the 
rolls  the  one  containing  the  prophecies  of  Dan- 
iel, and  they  read  and  interpreted  some  of  these 
prophecies  to  Alexander,  which  they  considered 
to  have  reference  to  him,  though  written  many 
hundred  years  before.  Alexander  was,  as  Jose- 
phus  relates,  very  much  pleased  at  the  sight  of 
these  ancient  predictions,  and  the  interpretation 
put  upon  them  by  the  priests.  He  assured  the 
Jews  that  they  should  be  protected  in  the  exer- 
cise of  all  their  rights,  and  especially  in  their 
religious  worship,  and  he  also  promised  them 
that  he  would  take  their  brethren  who  resided 
in  Media  and  Babylon  under  his  special  charge 
when  he  should  come  into  possession  of  those  pla- 
ces. These  Jews  of  Media  and  Babylon  were 
the  descendants  of  captives  which  had  been  car- 
ried away  from  their  native  land  in  former  wars. 


174     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  332 

Doubts  about  Alexander's  visit.  Siege  of  Gaza. 

Such  is  the  story  which  Josephus  relates. 
The  Greek  historians,  on  the  other  hand,  make 
no  mention  of  this  visit  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  some 
persons  think  that  it  was  never  made,  but  that 
the  story  arose  and  was  propagated  from  gen- 
eration to  generation  among  the  Jews,  through 
the  influence  of  their  desire  to  magnify  the  im- 
portance and  influence  of  their  worship,  and 
that  Josephus  incorporated  the  account  into  his 
history  without  sufficiently  verifying  the  facts. 

However  it  may  be  in  regard  to  Jerusalem, 
Alexander  was  delayed  at  Gaza,  which,  as  may 
be  seen  upon  the  map,  is  on  the  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean  Sea.  It  was  a  place  of  consid- 
erable commerce  and  wealth,  and  was,  at  this 
time,  under  the  command  of  a  governor  whom 
Darius  had  stationed  there.  His  name  was 
Betis.  Betis  refused  to  surrender  the  place. 
Alexander  stopped  to  besiege  it,  and  the  siege 
delayed  him  two  months.  He  was  very  much 
exasperated  at  this,  both  against  Betis  and 
against  the  city. 

His  unreasonable  anger  was  very  much  in- 
creased by  a  wound  which  he  received.  He 
was  near  a  mound  which  his  soldiers  had  been 
constructing  near  the  city,  to  place  engines  upon 
for  an  attack  upon  the  walls,  when  an  arrow, 


B.C. 332.]  Alexander  in   Egypt.  175 

Alexander  receives  a  wound.  Gaza  taken  by  storm. 

shot  from  one  of  the  engines  upon  the  walls, 
struck  him  in  the  breast.  It  penetrated  his  ar- 
mor, and  wounded  him  deeply  in  the  shoulder. 
The  wound  was  very  painful  for  some  time,  and 
the  suffering  which  he  endured  from  it  only  add- 
ed fuel  to  the  flame  of  his  anger  against  the  city. 

At  last  breaches  were  made  in  the  walls,  and 
the  place  was  taken  by  storm.  Alexander  treat- 
ed the  wretched  captives  with  extreme  cruelty. 
He  cut  the  garrison  to  pieces,  and  sold  the  in- 
habitants to  slavery.  As  for  Betis,  he  dealt 
with  him  in  a  manner  almost  too  horrible  to  be 
described.  The  reader  will  recollect  that  Achil- 
les, at  the  siege  of  Troy,  after  killing  Hector, 
dragged  his  dead  body  around  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Alexander,  growing  more  cruel  as  he  be- 
came more  accustomed  to  war  and  bloodshed, 
had  been  intending  to  imitate  this  example  so 
soon  as  he  could  find  an  enemy  worthy  of  such 
a  fate.  He  now  determined  to  carry  his  plan 
into  execution  with  Betis.  He  ordered  him  into 
nis  presence.  A  few  years  before,  he  would  have 
rewarded  him  for  his  fidelity  in  his  master's  serv- 
ice ;  but  now,  grown  selfish,  hard  hearted,  and 
revengeful,  he  looked  upon  him  with  a  counte- 
nance full  of  vindictive  exultation,  and  said, 

"  You  are  not  going  to  die  the  simple  death 


176    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  332. 

Alexander's  brutality  to  the  brave  Betis.  Rich  treasures. 

that  you  desire.  You  have  got  the  worst  tor- 
ments that  revenge  can  invent  to  suffer." 

Betis  did  not  reply,  but  looked  upon  Alexan- 
der with  a  calm,  and  composed,  and  unsubdued 
air,  which  incensed  the  conqueror  more  and 
more. 

"  Observe  his  dumb  arrogance,"  said  Alexan- 
der ;  '•"  but  I  will  conquer  him.  I  will  show 
him  that  I  can  draw  groans  from  him,  if  noth- 
ing else." 

He  then  ordered  holes  to  be  made  through  the 
heels  of  his  unhappy  captive,  and,  passing  a  rope 
through  them,  had  the  body  fastened  to  a  char- 
iot, and  dragged  about  the  city  till  no  life  re- 
mained. 

Alexander  found  many  rich  treasures  in  Gaza. 
He  sent  a  large  part  of  them  to  his  mother  Olym- 
pias,  whom  he  had  left  in  Macedon.  Alexan- 
der's affection  for  his  mother  seems  to  have  been 
more  permanent  than  almost  any  other  good 
trait  in  his  character.  He  found,  in  addition  to 
other  stores  of  valuable  merchandise,  a  large 
quantity  of  frankincense  and  myrrh.  These  are 
gums  which  were  brought  from  Arabia,  and 
were  very  costly.  They  were  used  chiefly  in 
making  offerings  and  in  burning  incense  to  the 
gods. 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander   in  Egypt.         177 


Story  of  Alexander's  youth. 


When  Alexander  was  a  young  man  in  Mace- 
don,  before  his  father's  death,  he  was  one  day 
present  at  the  offering  of  sacrifices,  and  one  of 
his  teachers  and  guardians,  named  Leonnatus, 
who  was  standing  by,  thought  he  was  rather 
profuse  in  his  consumption  of  frankincense  and 
myrrh.  He  was  taking  it  up  by  handfuls  and 
throwing  it  upon  the  fire.  Leonnatus  reproved, 
him  for  this  extravagance,  and  told  him  that 
when  he  became  master  of  the  countries  where 
these  costly  gums  were  procured,  he  might  be 
as  prodigal  of  them  as  he  pleased,  but  that  in 
the  mean  time  it  would  be  proper  for  him  to  be 
more  prudent  and  economical.  Alexander  re- 
membered this  reproof,  and,  finding  vast  stores 
of  these  expensive  gums  in  Gaza,  he  sent  the 
whole  quantity  to  Leonnatus,  telling  him  that 
he  sent  him  this  abundant  supply  that  he  might 
not  have  occasion  to  be  so  reserved  and  sparing 
for  the  future  in  his  sacrifices  to  the  gods. 

After  this  concmest  and  destruction  of  Gaza, 
Alexander  continued  his  march  southward  to 
the  frontiers  of  Egypt.  He  reached  these  fron- 
tiers at  the  city  of  Peluslum.  The  Egyptians 
had  been  under  the  Persian  dominion,  but  they 
abhorred  it,  and  were  very  ready  to  submit  to 
Alexander's  sway.  They  sent  embassadors  to 
M 


178     Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C.  332. 

Memphis.  Fertility  of  Egypt. 

meet  him  upon  the  frontiers.  The  governors  of 
the  cities,  as  he  advanced  into  the  country,  find- 
ing that  it  would  be  useless  to  resist,  and  warned 
by  the  terrible  example  of  Thebes,  Tyre,  and 
Gaza,  surrendered  to  him  as  fast  as  he  sum- 
moned them. 

He  went  to  Memphis.  Memphis  was  a  great 
and  powerful  city,  situated  in  what  was  called 
Lower  Egypt,  on  the  Nile,  just  above  where 
the  branches  which  form  the  mouths  of  the  Nile 
separate  from  the  main  stream.  All  that  part 
of  Egypt  is  flat  country,  having  been  formed  by 
the  deposits  brought  down  by  the  Nile.  Such 
land  is  called  alluvial ;  it  is  always  level,  and, 
as  it  consists  of  successive  deposits  from  the 
turbid  waters  of  the  river,  made  in  the  success- 
ive inundations,  it  forms  always  a  very  rich 
soil,  deep  and  inexhaustible,  and  is,  of  course, 
extremely  fertile.  Egypt  has  been  celebrated 
for  its  unexampled  fertility  from  the  earliest 
times.  It  waves  with  fields  of  corn  and  grain, 
and  is  adorned  with  groves  of  the  most  luxuri- 
ant growth  and  richest  verdure. 

It  is  only,  however,  so  far  as  the  land  is  formed 
by  the  deposits  of  the  Nile,  that  this  scene  of 
verdure  and  beauty  extends.  On  the  east  it  is 
bounded  by  ranges  of  barren  and  rocky  hills, 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander  in   Egypt.         179 

Deserts  of  Egypt.  Cause  of  their  sterility. 

and  on  the  west  by  vast  deserts,  consisting  of 
moving  sands,  from  which  no  animal  or  vegeta- 
ble life  can  derive  the  means  of  existence.  The 
reason  of  this  sterility  seems  to  be  the  absence 
of  water.  The  geological  formation  of  the  land 
is  such  that  it  furnishes  few  springs  of  water, 
and  no  streams,  and  in  that  climate  it  seldom 
or  never  rains.  If  there  is  water,  the  most  bar- 
ren sands  will  clothe  themselves  with  some  spe- 
cies of  vegetation,  which,  in  its  decay,  will  form 
a  soil  that  will  nourish  more  and  more  fully  each 
succeeding  generation  of  plants.  But  in  the  ab- 
sence of  water,  any  surface  of  earth  will  soon 
become  a  barren  sand.  The  wind  will  drive 
away  every  thing  imponderable,  leaving  only 
the  heavy  sands,  to  drift  in  storms,  like  fields  of 
snow. 

Among  these  African  deserts,  however,  there 
are  some  fertile  spots.  They  are  occasioned  by 
springs  which  arise  in  little  dells,  and  which 
saturate  the  ground  with  moisture  for  some  dis- 
tance around  them.  The  water  from  these 
springs  flows  for  some  distance,  in  many  cases, 
in  a  little  stream,  before  it  is  finally  lost  and 
absorbed  in  the  sands.  The  whole  tract  under 
the  influence  of  this  irrigation  clothes  itself 
with  verdure.     Trees  grow  up  to  shade  it.     It 


180      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  332. 

The  Great  Oasis.  Oasis  of  Siwah.  Jupiter  Ammon, 

forms  a  spot  whose  beauty,  absolutely  great,  is 
heightened  by  the  contrast  which  it  presents  to 
the  gloomy  and  desolate  desert  by  which  it  is 
surrounded.  Such  a  green  spot  in  the  desert 
is  called  an  Oasis.  They  are  the  resort  and  the 
refuge  of  the  traveler  and  the  pilgrim,  who  seek 
shelter  and  repose  upon  them  in  their  weary 
journeys  over  the  trackless  wilds. 

Nor  must  it  be  supposed  that  these  islands  of 
fertility  and  verdure  are  always  small.  Some 
of  them  are  very  extensive,  and  contain  a  con- 
siderable population.  There  is  one  called  the 
Great  Oasis,  which  consists  of  a  chain  of  fer- 
tile tracts  of  about  a  hundred  miles  in  length. 
Another,  called  the  Oasis  of  Siwah,  has,  in  mod- 
ern times,  a  population  of  eight  thousand  souls. 
This  last  is  situated  not  far  from  the  shores  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea — at  least  not  very  far ; 
perhaps  two  or  three  hundred  miles — and  it  was 
a  very  celebrated  spot  in  Alexander's  day. 

The  cause  of  its  celebrity  was  that  it  was  the 
seat  and  center  of  the  worship  of  a  famous  deity 
called  Jupiter  Ammon.  This  god  was  said  to 
be  the  son  of  Jupiter,  though  there  were  all 
sorts  of  stories  about  his  origin  and  early  histo- 
ry. He  had  the  form  of  a  ram,  and  was  wor- 
shiped by  the  people  of  Egypt,  and  also  by  the 


B.C.332.]  Alexander  in  Egypt.         181 

Temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon.  Alexander  aspires  to  divine  honors. 

Carthaginians,  and  by  the  people  of  Northern 
Africa  generally.  His  temple  was  in  this  Oasis, 
and  it  was  surrounded  by  a  considerable  popu- 
lation, which  was  supported,  in  a  great  degree, 
by  the  expenditures  of  the  worshipers  who  came 
as  pilgrims,  or  otherwise,  to  sacrifice  at  his 
shrine. 

It  is  said  that  Alexander,  finding  that  the  va- 
rious objects  of  human  ambition  which  he  had 
been  so  rapidly  attaining  by  his  victories  and 
conquests  for  the  past  few  years  were  insuffi- 
cient to  satisfy  him,  began  now  to  aspire  for 
some  supernatural  honors,  and  he  accordingly 
conceived  the  design  of  having  himself  declared 
to  be  the  son  of  a  god.  The  heroes  of  Homer 
were  sons  of  the  gods.  Alexander  envied  them 
the  fame  and  honor  which  this  distinction  gave 
them  in  the  opinion  of  mankind.  He  determ- 
ined to  visit  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Ammon  in 
the  Oasis  of  Siwah,  and  to  have  the  declaration 
of  his  divine  origin  made  by  the  priests  there. 

He  proceeded,  accordingly,  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Nile,  where  he  found  a  very  eligible  place, 
as  he  believed,  for  the  foundation  of  a  commer- 
cial city,  and  he  determined  to  build  it  on  his 
return.  Thence  he  marched  along  the  shores 
of  the  Mediterranean,  toward  the  west,  until 


182     Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C.  332. 

Alexander  crosses  the  desert.  Its  sublimity. 

he  reached  a  place  called  Parsctonium,  which 
will  be  found  upon  the  map.  He  then  left  the 
sea-shore  and  marched  south,  striking  at  once 
into  the  desert  when  he  left  the  sea.  He  was 
accompanied  by  a  small  detachment  of  his  army 
as  an  escort,  and  they  journeyed  eleven  days  be- 
fore they  reached  the  Oasis. 

They  had  a  variety  of  perilous  adventures  in 
crossing  the  desert.  For  the  first  two  days  the 
soldiers  were  excited  and  pleased  with  the  nov- 
elty and  romantic  grandeur  of  the  scene.  The 
desert  has,  in  some  degree,  the  sublimity  of  the 
ocean.  There  is  the  same  boundless  expanse, 
the  same  vast,  unbroken  curve  of  the  horizon, 
the  same  tracklessness,  the  same  solitude.  There 
is,  in  addition,  a  certain  profound  and  awful  still- 
ness and  repose,  which  imparts  to  it  a  new  ele- 
ment of  impressiveness  and  grandeur.  Its  dread 
and  solemn  silence  is  far  more  imposing  and 
sublime  than  the  loudest  thunders  of  the  seas. 

The  third  day  the  soldiers  began  to  be  weary 
of  such  a  march.  They  seemed  afraid  to  pene- 
trate any  further  into  such  boundless  and  terri- 
ble solitudes.  They  had  been  obliged  to  bring 
water  with  them  in  goat-skins,  which  were  car- 
ried by  camels.  The  camel  is  the  only  beast 
of  burden  which  can  be  employed  upon  the  des- 


B.C. 332.]  Alexander   in   Egypt.  183 

The  camel.  Scarcity  of  water. 

erts.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  anatomical 
structure  of  this  animal  by  which  he  can  take 
in,  at  one  time,  a  supply  of  water  for  many 
days.  He  is  formed,  in  fact,  for  the  desert.  In 
his  native  state  he  lives  in  the  oases  and  in  the 
valleys.  He  eats  the  herbage  which  grows 
among  the  rocks  and  hills  that  alternate  with 
the  great  sandy  plains  in  all  these  countries. 
In  passing  from  one  of  his  scanty  pasturages  to 
another,  he  has  long  journeys  to  make  across 
the  sands,  where,  though  he  can  find  food  here 
and  there,  there  is  no  water.  Providence  has 
formed  him  with  a  structure  adapted  to  this  ex- 
igency, and  by  means  of  it  he  becomes  extreme- 
ly useful  to  man. 

The  soldiers  of  Alexander  did  not  take  a  suf- 
ficient supply  of  water,  and  were  reduced,  at 
one  time,  to  great  distress.  They  were  relieved, 
the  story  says,  by  a  rain,  though  rain  is  ex- 
tremely unusual  in  the  deserts.  Alexander  at- 
tributed this  supply  to  the  miraculous  interpo- 
sition of  Heaven.  They  catch  the  rain,  in  such 
cases,  with  cloths,  and  afterward  wring  out  the 
water ;  though  in  this  instance,  as  the  histori- 
ans of  that  day  say,  the  soldiers  did  not  wait 
for  this  tardy  method  of  supply,  but  the  whole 
detachment  held  back  their  heads  and  opened 


184    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C. 332. 

Sand  storms  in  the  desert.  Arrival  at  the  Oasis. 

their  mouths,  to  catch  the  drops  of  rain  as  they 
fell. 

There  was  another  danger  to  which  they 
were  exposed  in  their  march,  more  terrible  even 
than  the  scarcity  of  water.  It  was  that  of  be- 
ing overwhelmed  in  the  clouds  of  sand  and  dust 
which  sometimes  swept  over  the  desert  in  gales 
of  wind.  These  were  called  sand-storms.  The 
fine  sand  flew,  in  such  cases,  in  driving  clouds, 
which  filled  the  eyes  and  stopped  the  breath  of 
the  traveler,  and  finally  buried  his  body  under 
its  drifts  when  he  laid  down  to  die.  A  large 
army  of  fifty  thousand  men,  under  a  former  Per- 
sian king,  had  been  overwhelmed  and  destroyed 
in  this  way,  some  years  before,  in  some  of  the 
Egyptian  deserts.  Alexander's  soldiers  had 
heard  of  this  calamity,  and  they  were  threat- 
ened sometimes  with  the  same  fate.  They, 
however,  at  length  escaped  all  the  dangers  of 
the  desert,  and  began  to  approach  the  green  and 
fertile  land  of  the  Oasis. 

The  change  from  the  barren  and  dismal  lone- 
liness of  the  sandy  plains  to  the  groves  and  the 
villages,  the  beauty  and  the  verdure  of  the  Oa- 
sis, was  delightful  both  to  Alexander  himself 
and  to  all  his  men.  The  priests  at  the  great 
temple  of  Jupiter  Amnion  received  them  all 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander  in   Egypt. 


185 


Magnificent  ceremonies. 


Return  to  Memphis. 


with  marks  of  great  distinction  and  honor.  The 
most  solemn  and  magnificent  ceremonies  were 
performed,  with  offerings,  oblations,  and  sacri- 
fices. The  priests,  after  conferring  in  secret 
with  the  god  in  the  temple,  came  out  with  the 
annunciation  that  Alexander  was  indeed  his 
son,  and  they  paid  him,  accordingly,  almost  di- 
vine honors.  He  is  supposed  to  have  bribed 
them  to  do  this  by  presents  and  pay.  Alexan- 
der returned  at  length  to  Memphis,  and  in  all 
his  subsequent  orders  and  decrees  he  styled  him- 
self Alexander  king,  son  of  Jupiter  Ammon. 

But,  though  Alexander  was  thus  willing  to 
impress  his  ignorant  soldiers  with  a  mysterious 
veneration  for  his  fictitious  divinity,  he  was  not 
deceived  himself  on  the  subject ;  he  sometimes 
even  made  his  pretensions  to  the  divine  charac- 
ter a  subject  of  joke.  For  instance,  they  one 
day  brought  him  in  too  little  fire  in  the  focus. 
The  focus,  or  fire-place  used  in  Alexander's  day, 


A  Focus. 


186    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  332. 

Alexander  jokes  about  his  divinity.  Founding  of  Alexandria. 

was  a  small  metallic  stand,  on  which  the  fire  was 
built.  It  was  placed  wherever  convenient  in 
the  tent,  and  the  smoke  escaped  above.  They 
had  put  upon  the  focus  too  little  fuel  one  day 
when  they  brought  it  in.  Alexander  asked  the 
officer  to  let  him  have  either  some  wood  or  some 
frankincense ;  they  might  consider  him,  he  said, 
as  a  god  or  as  a  man,  whichever  they  pleased, 
but  he  wished  to  be  treated  either  like  one  or 
the  other. 

On  his  return  from  the  Oasis  Alexander  car- 
ried forward  his  plan  of  building  a  city  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Nile.  He  drew  the  plan,  it  is 
said,  with  his  own  hands.  He  superintended 
the  constructions,  and  invited  artisans  and  me- 
chanics from  all  nations  to  come  and  reside  in  it. 
They  accepted  the  invitation  in  great  numbers, 
and  the  city  soon  became  large,  and  wealthy, 
and  powerful.  It  was  intended  as  a  commer- 
cial post,  and  the  wisdom  and  sagacity  which 
Alexander  manifested  in  the  selection  of  the  site, 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  city  rose  immedi- 
ately to  the  rank  of  the  great  seat  of  trade  and 
commerce  for  all  those  shores,  and  has  contin- 
ued to  hold  that  rank  now  for  twenty  centuries. 

There  was  an  island  near  the  coast,  opposite 
the  city,  called  the  island  of  Pharos.     They 


B.C.  332.]  Alexander   in  Egypt.         187 

Island  of  Pharos.  The  light-house. 

built  a  most  magnificent  light-house  upon  one 
extremity  of  this  island,  which  was  considered, 
in  those  days,  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  world. 
It  was  said  to  be  five  hundred  feet  high.  This 
may  have  been  an  exaggeration.  At  any  rate, 
it  was  celebrated  throughout  the  world  in  its 
day,  and  its  existence  and  its  greatness  made  an 
impression  on  the  human  mind  which  has  not 
yet  been  effaced.  Pharos  is  the  name  for  light- 
house, in  many  languages,  to  the  present  day. 
In  building  the  city  of  Alexandria,  Alexander 
laid  aside,  for  a  time,  his  natural  and  proper 
character,  and  assumed  a  mode  of  action  in 
strong  contrast  with  the  ordinary  course  of  his 
life.  He  was,  throughout  most  of  his  career,  a 
destroyer.  He  roamed  over  the  world  to  inter- 
rupt commerce,  to  break  in  upon  and  disturb 
the  peaceful  pursuits  of  industry,  to  batter  down 
city  walls,  and  burn  dwellings,  and  kill  men. 
This  is  the  true  vocation  of  a  hero  and  a  con- 
queror ;  but  at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  Alexander 
laid  aside  this  character.  He  turned  his  ener- 
gies to  the  work  of  planning  means  to  do  good. 
He  constructed  a  port;  he  built  warehouses; 
he  provided  accommodations  and  protection  for 
merchants  and  artisans.  The  nations  exchang- 
ed their  commodities  far  more  easily  and  exten- 


188    Alexander    the    Great.    [B.C.  332. 

Alexandria  the  only  remaining  monument  of  Alexander's  greatness. 

sively  in  consequence  of  these  facilities,  and  the 
means  of  comfort  and  enjoyment  were  multi- 
plied and  increased  in  thousands  and  thousands 
of  huts  in  the  great  cities  of  Egypt,  and  in  the 
rural  districts  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  The 
good,  too,  which  he  thus  commenced,  has  per- 
petuated itself.  Alexandria  has  continued  to 
fulfill  its  beneficent  function  for  two  thousand 
years.  It  is  the  only  monument  of  his  great- 
ness which  remains.  Every  thing  else  which 
he  accomplished  perished  when  he  died.  How 
much  better  would  it  have  been  for  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind,  as  well  as  for  his  own  true 
fame  and  glory,  if  doing  good  had  been  the  rule 
of  his  life  instead  of  the  exception. 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great   Victory.  189 

Alexander  makes  Tyre  his  rendezvous.  Festivities. 


Chapter  IX. 
The  Great  Victory. 

ALL  the  western  part  of  Asia  was  now  in 
Alexander's  power.  He  was  undisputed 
master  of  Asia  Minor,  Phoenicia,  Judea,  and 
Egypt.  He  returned  from  Egypt  to  Tyre,  leav- 
ing governors  to  rule  in  his  name  in  all  the  con- 
quered provinces.  The  injuries  which  had  been 
done  to  Tyre,  during  the  siege  and  at  the  assault, 
were  repaired,  and  it  was  again  a  wealthy,  pow- 
erful, and  prosperous  city.  Alexander  rested 
and  refreshed  his  army  there,  and  spent  some 
weeks  in  most  splendid  festivities  and  rejoicings. 
The  princes  and  potentates  of  all  the  neighbor- 
ing countries  assembled  to  partake  of  his  hospi- 
tality, to  be  entertained  by  the  games,  the  plays, 
the  spectacles,  and  the  feastings,  and  to  unite 
in  swelling  his  court  and  doing  him  honor.  In 
a  word,  he  was  the  general  center  of  attraction 
for  all  eyes,  and  the  object  of  universal  homage. 
All  this  time,  however,  he  was  very  far  from 
being  satisfied,  or  feeling  that  his  work  was 
done.     Darius,  whom  he  considered  his  great 


190    Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  381. 

Alexander  prepares  to  march  east.  The  captive  queens. 

enemy,  was  still  in  the  field  unsubdued.  He 
had  retreated  across  the  Euphrates,  and  was 
employed  in  assembling  a  vast  collection  of  for- 
ces from  all  the  Eastern  nations  which  were  un- 
der his  sway,  to  meet  Alexander  in  the  final 
contest.  Alexander  therefore  made  arrange- 
ments at  Tyre  for  the  proper  government  of  the 
various  kingdoms  and  provinces  which  he  had 
already  conquered,  and  then  began  to  prepare 
for  marching  eastward  with  the  main  body  of 
his  army. 

During  all  this  time  the  ladies  of  Darius's 
family,  who  had  been  taken  captive  at  Issus, 
had  been  retained  in  captivity,  and  made  to  ac- 
company Alexander's  army  in  its  marches.  Al- 
exander refused  to  accede  to  any  of  the  plans 
and  propositions  which  Darius  made  and  offered 
for  the  redemption  of  his  wife  and  mother,  but 
insisted  on  retaining  them  as  his  prisoners.  He, 
however,  treated  them  with  respect  and  high 
consideration.  He  provided  them  with  royal 
tents  of  great  magnificence,  and  had  them  con- 
veyed from  place  to  place,  when  his  army  mov- 
ed, with  all  the  royal  state  to  which  they  had 
been  accustomed  when  in  the  court  of  Darius. 

It  has  been  generally  thought  a  proof  of  no- 
bleness of  spirit  and  generosity  in  Alexander 


B.C.  331.]  The  Great  Victory.  191 

Alexander's  treatment  of  the  queens.  Death  of  Statira. 

that  he  treated  his  captives  in  this  manner.  It 
would  seem,  however,  that  true  generosity  would 
have  prompted  the  restoration  of  these  unhappy 
and  harmless  prisoners  to  the  husband  and  fa- 
ther who  mourned  their  separation  from  him, 
and  their  cruel  sufferings,  with  bitter  grief.  It 
is  more  probable,  therefore,  that  policy,  and  a 
regard  for  his  own  aggrandizement,  rather  than 
compassion  for  the  suffering,  led  him  to  honor 
his  captive  queens.  It  was  a  great  glory  to 
him,  in  a  martial  point  of  view,  to  have  such 
trophies  of  his  victory  in  his  train ;  and,  of 
course,  the  more  highly  he  honored  the  person- 
ages, the  more  glorious  the  trophy  appeared. 
Accordingly,  Alexander  did  every  thing  in  his 
power  to  magnify  the  importance  of  his  royal 
captives,  by  the  splendor  of  their  retinue,  and 
the  pomp  and  pageantry  with  which  he  invest- 
ed their  movements. 

A  short  time  after  leaving  Tyre,  on  the 
march  westward,  Statira,  the  wife  of  Darius, 
was  taken  suddenly  ill  and  died.*  The  tidings 
were  immediately  brought  to  Alexander,  and 
he  repaired  without  delay  to  Sysigambis's  tent. 

*  It  was  the  birth  of  an  infant  that  caused  her  death,  ex- 
hausted and  worn  down,  as  she  doubtless  was,  by  her  cap- 
tivity and  her  sorrows. 


192     Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  331. 

Agony  of  Sysigambis.  Grief  of  Dariua. 

Sysigambis  was  the  mother  of  Darius.  She 
was  in  the  greatest  agony  of  grief.  She  was 
lying  upon  the  floor  of  her  tent,  surrounded  by 
the  ladies  of  her  court,  and  entirely  overwhelm- 
ed with  sorrow.  Alexander  did  all  in  his  power 
to  calm  and  comfort  her. 

One  of  the  officers  of  Queen  Statira's  house- 
hold* made  his  escape  from  the  camp  immedi- 
ately after  his  mistress's  death,  and  fled  across 
the  country  to  Darius,  to  carry  him  the  heavy 
tidings.  Darius  was  overwhelmed  with  afflic- 
tion. The  officer,  however,  in  farther  inter- 
views, gave  him  such  an  account  of  the  kind 
and  respectful  treatment  which  the  ladies  had 
received  from  Alexander,  during  all  the  time  of 
their  captivity,  as  greatly  to  relieve  his  mind, 
and  to  afford  him  a  high  degree  of  comfort  and 
consolation.  He  expressed  a  very  strong  sense 
of  gratitude  to  Alexander  for  his  generosity  and 
kindness,  and  said  that  if  his  kingdom  of  Persia 
must  be  conquered,  he  sincerely  wished  that  it 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  such  a  conqueror  as 
Alexander. 

By  looking  at  the  map  at  the  commencement 
of  the  volume,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Tigris 

*  A  eunuch,  a  sort  of  officer  employed  in  Eastern  nations 
in  attendance  upon  ladies  of  high  ranK. 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great    Victory.  193 


Alexander  crosses  the  Euphrates.  Darius  crosses  the  Tigris. 

and  the  Euphrates  are  parallel  streams,  flowing 
through  the  heart  of  the  western  part  of  Asia 
toward  the  southeast,  and  emptying  into  the 
Persian  Gulf.  The  country  between  these  two 
rivers,  which  was  extremely  populous  and  fer- 
tile, was  called  Mesopotamia.  Darius  had  col- 
lected an  immense  army  here.  The  various  de- 
tachments filled  all  the  plains  of  Mesopotamia. 
Alexander  turned  his  course  a  little  northward, 
intending  to  pass  the  River  Euphrates  at  a  fa- 
mous ancient  crossing  at  Thapsacus,  which  may 
be  seen  upon  the  map.  When  he  arrived  at 
this  place  he  found  a  small  Persian  army  there. 
They,  however,  retired  as  he  approached.  Al- 
exander built  two  bridges  across  the  river,  and 
passed  his  army  safely  over. 

In  the  mean  time,  Darius,  with  his  enormous 
host,  passed  across  the  Tigris,  and  moved  to- 
ward the  northward,  along  the  eastern  side  of 
the  river.  He  had  to  cross  the  various  branch- 
es of  the  Tigris  as  he  advanced.  At  one  of 
them,  called  the  Lycus,  which  may  also  be  seen 
upon  the  map,  there  was  a  bridge.  It  took  the 
vast  host  which  Darius  had  collected  five  days 
to  pass  this  bridge. 

While  Darius  had  been  thus  advancing  to 
the  northward  into  the  latitude  where  he  knew 
N 


194     Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  331. 

Alexander  reaches  the  Tigris.  He  crosses  the  river. 

that  Alexander  must  cross  the  rivers,  Alexan- 
der himself,  and  his  small  but  compact  and  fear- 
less body  of  Grecian  troops,  were  moving  east- 
ward, toward  the  same  region  to  which  Darius's 
line  of  march  was  tending.  Alexander  at  length 
reached  the  Tigris.  He  was  obliged  to  ford  this 
stream.  The  banks  were  steep  and  the  current 
was  rapid,  and  the  men  were  in  great  danger  of 
being  swept  away.  To  prevent  this  danger, 
the  ranks,  as  they  advanced,  linked  their  arms 
together,  so  that  each  man  might  be  sustained 
by  his  comrades.  They  held  their  shields  above 
their  heads  to  keep  them  from  the  water.  Al- 
exander waded  like  the  rest,  though  he  kept  in 
front,  and  reached  the  bank  before  the  others. 
Standing  there,  he  indicated  to  the  advancing 
column,  by  gesticulation,  where  to  land,  the 
noise  of  the  water  being  too  great  to  allow  his 
voice  to  be  heard.  To  see  him  standing  there, 
safely  landed,  and  with  an  expression  of  confi- 
dence and  triumph  in  his  attitude  and  air, 
awakened  fresh  energy  in  the  heart  of  every 
soldier  in  the  columns  which  were  crossing  the 
stream. 

Notwithstanding  this  encouragement,  how- 
ever, the  passage  of  the  troops  and  the  landing 
on  the  bank  produced  a  scene  of  greet  confusion. 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great   Victory.  195 

Fording  the  river.  The  passage  eftected. 

Many  of  the  soldiers  had  tied  up  a  portion  of 
their  clothes  in  bundles,  which  they  held  above 
their  heads,  together  with  their  arms,  as  they 
waded  along  through  the  swift  current  of  the 
stream.  They,  however,  found  it  impossible  to 
carry  these  bundles,  but  had  to  abandon  them 
at  last  in  order  to  save  themselves,  as  they 
staggered  along  through  deep  and  rapid  water, 
and  over  a  concealed  bottom  of  slippery  stones. 
Thousands  of  these  bundles,  mingled  with  spears, 
darts,  and  every  other  sort  of  weapon  that  would 
float,  were  swept  down  by  the  current,  to  im- 
pede and  embarrass  the  men  who  were  passing 
below. 

At  length,  however,  the  men  themselves  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  over  in  safety,  though  a  large 
quantity  of  arms  and  of  clothing  was  lost. 
There  was  no  enemy  upon  the  bank  to  oppose 
them.  Darius  could  not,  in  fact,  well  meet 
and  oppose  Alexander  in  his  attempt  to  cross 
the  river,  because  he  could  not  determine  at 
what  point  he  would  probably  make  the  at- 
tempt, in  season  to  concentrate  so  large  an  army 
to  oppose  him.  Alexander's  troops,  being  a 
comparatively  small  and  compact  body,  and  be- 
ing accustomed  to  move  with  great  promptness 
and  celerity,  could  easily  evade  any  attempt  of 


196     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C. 331. 

Plan  of  Darius.  The  plain  of  Arbela. 

such  an  unwieldy  mass  of  forces  to  oppose  his 
crossing  at  any  particular  point  upon  the  stream. 
At  any  rate,  Darius  did  not  make  any  such  at- 
tempt, and  Alexander  had  no  difficulties  to  en- 
counter in  crossing  the  Tigris  other  than  the 
physical  obstacles  presented  by  the  current  of 
the  stream. 

Darius's  plan  was,  therefore,  not  to  intercept 
Alexander  on  his  march,  but  to  choose  some 
great  and  convenient  battle -field,  where  he 
could  collect  his  forces,  and  marshal  them  ad- 
vantageously, and  so  await  an  attack  there. 
He  knew  very  well  that  his  enemy  would  seek 
him  out,  wherever  he  was,  and,  consequently, 
that  he  might  choose  his  position.  He  found 
such  a  field  in  an  extensive  plain  at  Guagame- 
la,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Arbela.  The  spot 
has  received  historical  immortality  under  the 
name  of  the  plain  of  Arbela. 

Darius  was  several  days  in  concentrating  his 
vast  armies  upon  this  plain.  He  constructed 
encampments ;  he  leveled  the  inequalities  which 
would  interfere  with  the  movements  of  his  great 
bodies  of  cavalry  ;  he  guarded  the  approaches, 
too,  as  much  as  possible.  There  is  a  little  in- 
strument used  in  war  called   a  caltrop.*     It 

*  It  receives  its  name  from  a  kind  of  thistle  called  the  caltrop. 


B.C.  331.]  The    Great   Victory.  197 

The  caltrop.  Its  use  in  war. 

consists  of  a  small  ball  of  iron,  with  several 
sharp  points  projecting  from  it  one  or  two 
inches    each   way.     If  these   instruments    are 


The  Caltrop. 

thrown  upon  the  ground  at  random,  one  of  the 
points  must  necessarily  be  upward,  and  the 
horses  that  tread  upon  them  are  lamed  and  dis- 
abled at  once.  Darius  caused  caltrops  to  be 
scattered  in  the  grass  and  along  the  roads, 
wherever  the  army  of  Alexander  would  be  like- 
ly to  approach  his  troops  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Alexander,  having  crossed  the  river,  encamp- 
ed for  a  day  or  two  on  the  banks,  to  rest  and 
refresh,  and  to  rearrange  his  army.  While 
here,  the  soldiers  were  one  night  thrown  into 
consternation  by  an  eclipse  of  the  moon.  When- 


198      Alex  a  n  d  e  r  t  he  Grea  t.  [B.C.  33 1. 

Eclipse  of  the  moon.  Consternation  of  Alexander's  army. 

ever  an  eclipse  of  the  moon  takes  place,  it  is, 
of  course,  when  the  moon  is  full,  so  that  the 
eclipse  is  always  a  sudden,  and,  among  an  ig- 
norant people,  an  unexpected  waning  of  the  orb 
in  the  height  of  its  splendor ;  and  as  such  peo- 
ple know  not  the  cause  of  the  phenomenon, 
they  are  often  extremely  terrified.  Alexander's 
soldiers  were  thrown  into  consternation  by  the 
eclipse.  They  considered  it  the  manifestation 
of  the  displeasure  of  Heaven  at  their  presump- 
tuous daring  in  crossing  such  rivers,  and  pene- 
trating to  such  a  distance  to  invade  the  terri- 
tories of  another  king. 

In  fact,  the  men  were  predisposed  to  fear. 
Having  wandered  to  a  vast  distance  from  home, 
having  passed  over  such  mountains  and  deserts, 
and  now,  at  last,  having  crossed  a  deep  and  dan- 
gerous river,  and  thrown  themselves  into  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  a  foe  ten  times  as  numer- 
ous as  themselves,  it  was  natural  that  they 
should  feel  some  misgivings.  And  when,  at 
night,  impressed  with  the  sense  of  solemnity 
which  night  always  imparts  to  strange  and 
novel  scenes,  they  looked  up  to  the  bright  round 
moon,  pleased  with  the  expression  of  cheerful- 
ness and  companionship  which  beams  always 
in  her  light,  to  find  her  suddenly  waning,  chang- 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great   Victory.  199 

Emotions  produced  by  an  eclipse.  Its  sublimity. 

ing  her  form,  withdrawing  her  bright  beams, 
and  looking  down  upon  them  with  a  lurid  and 
murky  light,  it  was  not  surprising  that  they  felt 
an  emotion  of  terror.  In  fact,  there  is  always 
an  element  of  terror  in  the  emotion  excited  by 
looking  upon  an  eclipse,  which  an  instinctive 
feeling  of  the  heart  inspires.  It  invests  the 
spectacle  with  a  solemn  grandeur.  It  holds  the 
spectator,  however  cultivated  and  refined,  in  si- 
lence while  he  gazes  at  it.  It  mingles  with  a 
scientific  appreciation  of  the  vastness  of  the 
movements  and  magnitudes  by  which  the  effect 
is  produced,  and  while  the  one  occupies  the  in- 
tellect, the  other  impresses  the  soul.  The  mind 
that  has  lost,  through  its  philosophy,  the  power 
of  feeling  this  emotion  of  awe  in  such  scenes, 
has  sunk,  not  risen.  ^  Its  possessor  has  made 
himself  inferior,  not  superior,  to  the  rest  of  his 
species,  by  having  paralyzed  one  of  his  suscep- 
tibilities of  pleasure.  To  him  an  eclipse  is  only 
curious  and  wonderful ;  to  others  it  is  sublime. 
The  soldiers  of  Alexander  were  extremely  ter- 
rified. A  great  panic  spread  throughout  the  en- 
campment. Alexander  himself,  instead  of  at- 
tempting to  allay  their  fears  by  reasoning,  or 
treating  them  as  of  no  importance,  immediately 
gave  the  subject  his  most  serious  attention.     He 


£00      Ali:xam)i;r  thj:   Gkuat.   [li.l'.ooJ. 


Measures  taken  by  Alexander  to  allay  the  fears  of  the  soldiers. 

called  together  the  soothsayers,  and  directed  them 
to  consult  together,  and  let  him  know  what  this 
great  phenomenon  portended.  This  mere  com- 
mitting of  the  subject  to  the  attention  of  the 
soothsayers  had  a  great  effect  among  all  the 
soldiers  of  the  army.  It  calmed  them.  It 
changed  their  agitation  and  terror  into  a  feel- 
ing of  suspense,  in  awaiting  the  answer  of  the 
soothsayers,  which  was  far  less  painful  and  dan- 
gerous ;  and  at  length,  when  the  answer  came, 
it  allayed  their  anxiety  and  fear  altogether. 
The  soothsayers  said  that  the  sun  was  on  Al- 
exander's side,  and  the  moon  on  that  of  the  Per- 
sians, and  that  this  sudden  waning  of  her  light 
foreshadowed  the  defeat  and  destruction  which 
the  Persians  were  about  to  undergo.  The  army 
were  satisfied  with  this  decision,  and  were  in- 
spired with  new  confidence  and  ardor.  It  is 
often  idle  to  attempt  to  oppose  ignorance  and 
absurdity  by  such  feeble  instruments  as  truth 
and  reason,  and  the  wisest  managers  of  man- 
kind have  generally  been  most  successful  when 
their  plan  has  been  to  counteract  one  folly  by 
means  of  the  influence  of  another. 

Alexander's  army  consisted  of  about  fifty 
thousand  men,  with  the  phalanx  in  the  center. 
This  army  moved  along  down  the  eastern  bank 


B.C.  331.]   The    Great   Victory.  2G1 

Alexander  approaches  the  Persian  army.         Preparations  for  the  battle. 

of  the  Tigris,  the  scouts  pressing  forward  as  far 
as  possible  in  every  direction  in  front  of  the  main 
army,  in  order  to  get  intelligence  of  the  foe.  It 
is  in  this  way  that  two  great  armies  feel  after 
each  other,  as  it  were,  like  insects  creeping  over 
the  ground,  exploring  the  way  before  them  with 
their  antennce.  At  length,  after  three  days'  ad- 
vance, the  scouts  came  in  with  intelligence  of 
the  enemy.  Alexander  pressed  forward  with  a 
detachment  of  his  army  to  meet  them.  They 
proved  to  be,  however,  not  the  main  body  of  Da- 
rius's  army,  but  only  a  single  corps  of  a  thousand 
men,  in  advance  of  the  rest.  They  retreated 
as  Alexander  approached.  He,  however,  suc- 
ceeded in  capturing  some  horsemen,  who  gave 
the  information  that  Darius  had  assembled  his 
vast  forces  on  the  plain  of  Arbela,  and  was  wait- 
ing there  in  readiness  to  give  his  advancing  en- 
emy battle. 

Alexander  halted  his  troops.  He  formed  an 
encampment,  and  made  arrangements  for  de- 
positing his  baggage  there.  He  refreshed  the 
men,  examined  and  repaired  their  arms,  and 
made  the  arrangements  for  battle.  These  op- 
erations consumed  several  days.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  early  one  morning,  long  before  day, 
the  camp  was  in  motion,  and  the  columns,  armed 


202     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  331. 

Alexander  surveys  the  Persian  army.  Council  of  officers 

and  equipped  for  immediate  contest,  moved  for- 
ward. 

They  expected  to  have  reached  the  camp  of 
Darius  at  daybreak,  but  the  distance  was  great- 
er than  they  had  supposed.  At  length,  howev- 
er, the  Macedonians,  in  their  march,  came  upon 
the  brow  of  a  range  of  hills,  from  which  they 
looked  down  upon  numberless  and  endless  lines 
of  infantry  and  cavalry,  and  ranges  after  ranges 
of  tents,  which  filled  the  plain.  Here  the  army 
paused  while  Alexander  examined  the  field, 
studying  for  a  long  time,  and  with  great  atten- 
tion, the  numbers  and  disposition  of  the  enemy. 
They  were  four  miles  distant  still,  but  the  mur- 
muring sounds  of  their  voices  and  movements 
came  to  the  ears  of  the  Macedonians  through 
the  calm  autumnal  air. 

Alexander  called  the  leading  officers  together, 
and  held  a  consultation  on  the  question  whether 
to  march  down  and  attack  the  Persians  on  the 
plain  that  night,  or  to  wait  till  the  next  day. 
Parmenio  was  in  favor  of  a  night  attack,  in  or- 
der to  surprise  the  enemy  by  coming  upon  them 
at  an  unexpected  time.  But  Alexander  said 
no.  He  was  sure  of  victory.  He  had  got  his 
enemies  all  before  him ;  they  were  fully  in  his 
power.     He  would,  therefore,  take  no  advant- 


B.C.  331.]  The    Great    Victory.  203 

Number  of  the  armies.  Alexander's  address. 

age,  but  would  attack  them  fairly  and  in  open 
day.  Alexander  had  fifty  thousand  men ;  the 
Persians  were  variously  estimated  between  five 
hundred  thousand  and  a  million.  There  is  some- 
thing sublime  in  the  idea  of  such  a  pause,  made 
by  the  Macedonian  phalanx  and  its  wings,  on 
the  slopes  of  the  hills,  suspending  its  attack  upon 
ten  times  its  number,  to  give  the  mighty  mass 
of  their  enemies  the  chances  of  a  fair  and  equal 
contest. 

Alexander  made  congratulatory  addresses  to 
his  soldiers  on  the  occasion  of  their  having  now 
at  last  before  them,  what  they  had  so  long  toiled 
and  labored  to  attain,  the  whole  concentrated 
force  of  the  Persian  empire.  They  were  now 
going  to  contend,  not  for  single  provinces  and 
kingdoms,  as  heretofore,  but  for  general  empire ; 
and  the  victory  which  they  were  about  to  achieve 
would  place  them  on  the  summit  of  human  glo- 
ry. In  all  that  he  said  on  the  subject,  the  un- 
questionable certainty  of  victory  was  assumed. 

Alexander  completed  his  arrangements,  and 
then  retired  to  rest.  He  went  to  sleep — at  least 
he  appeared  to  do  so.  Early  in  the  morning 
Parmenio  arose,  summoned  the  men  to  their 
posts,  and  arranged  every  thing  for  the  march. 
He  then  went  to  Alexander's  tent.     Alexander 


204       A  L  E  X  A  XUEK     T  II  E     G  It  E  A  T.     [B.C.  33  1. 

Pannenio  and  Alexander.  Alexander's  dretsa. 

was  still  asleep.  He  awoke  him,  and  told  him 
that  all  was  ready.  Parmenio  expressed  sur- 
prise at  his  sleeping  so  quietly  at  a  time  when 
such  vast  issues  were  at  stake.  "  You  seem  as 
calm,"  said  he,  "as  if  you  had  had  the  battle 
and  gained  the  victory."  "  I  have  done  so," 
said  Alexander.  "  I  consider  the  whole  work 
done  when  we  have  gained  access  to  Darius  and 
his  forces,  and  find  him  ready  to  give  us  battle." 
Alexander  soon  appeared  at  the  head  of  his 
troops.  Of  course  this  day  was  one  of  the  most 
important  ones  of  his  life,  and  one  of  the  histo- 
rians of  the  time  has  preserved  an  account  of 
his  dress  as  he  went  into  battle.  He  wore  a 
short  tunic,  girt  close  around  him,  and  over  it 
a  linen  breast-plate,  strongly  quilted.  The  belt 
by  which  the  tunic  was  held  was  embossed  with 
figures  of  beautiful  workmanship.  This  belt 
was  a  present  to  him  from  some  of  the  people 
of  the  conquered  countries  through  which  he  had 
passed,  and  it  was  very  much  admired.  He 
had  a  helmet  upon  his  head,  of  polished  steel, 
with  a  neck  piece,  also  of  steel,  ornamented  with 
precious  stones.  His  helmet  was  surmounted 
with  a  white  plume.  His  sword,  which  was  a 
present  to  him  from  the  King  of  Cyprus,  was 
very  light  and  slender,  and  of  the  most  perfect 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great  Victory.  205 

War  elephants.  The  phalanx. 

temper.  He  carried,  also,  a  shield  and  a  lance, 
made  in  the  best  possible  manner  for  use,  not 
for  display.  Thus  his  dress  corresponded  with 
the  character  of  his  action.  It  was  simple,  com- 
pact, and  whatever  of  value  it  possessed  consist- 
ed in  those  substantial  excellences  which  would 
give  the  bearer  the  greatest  efficiency  on  the 
field  of  battle. 

The  Persians  were  accustomed  to  make  use 
of  elephants  in  their  wars.  They  also  had  char- 
iots, with  scythes  placed  at  the  axles,  which 
they  were  accustomed  to  drive  among  their  en- 
emies and  mow  them  down.  Alexander  resort- 
ed to  none  of  these  contrivances.  There  was 
the  phalanx — the  terrible  phalanx — advancing 
irresistibly  either  in  one  body  or  in  detachments, 
with  columns  of  infantry  and  flying  troops  of 
horsemen  on  the  wings.  Alexander  relied  sim- 
ply on  the  strength,  the  courage,  the  energy, 
and  the  calm  and  steady,  but  resistless  ardor  of 
his  men,  arranging  them  in  simple  combina- 
tions, and  leading  them  forward  directly  to  their 
work. 

The  Macedonians  cut  their  way  through  the 
mighty  mass  of  their  enemies  with  irresistible 
force.  The  elephants  turned  and  fled.  The 
foot  soldiers  seized  the  horses  of  some  of  the 


206     Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  331. 

Defeat  of  the  Persians.  Flight  of  Darius. 

scythe-armed  chariots  and  cut  the  traces.  In 
respect  to  others,  they  opened  to  the  right  and 
left  and  let  them  pass  through,  when  they  were 
easily  captured  by  the  men  in  the  rear.  In  the 
mean  time  the  phalanx  pressed  on,  enjoying  a 
great  advantage  in  the  level  nature  of  the 
ground.  The  Persian  troops  were  broken  in 
upon  and  driven  away  wherever  they  were  at- 
tacked. In  a  word,  before  night  the  whole 
mighty  mass  was  scattering  every  where  in  con- 
fusion, except  some  hundreds  of  thousands  left 
trampled  upon  and  dead,  or  else  writhing  upon 
the  ground,  and  groaning  in  their  dying  ago- 
nies. Darius  himself  fled.  Alexander  pursued 
him  with  a  troop  of  horse  as  far  as  Arbela, 
which  had  been  Darius's  head-quarters,  and 
where  he  had  deposited  immense  treasures. 
Darius  had  gone  through  and  escaped  when 
Alexander  arrived  at  Arbela,  but  the  city  and 
the  treasures  fell  into  Alexander's  hands. 

Although  Alexander  had  been  so  completely 
victorious  over  his  enemies  on  the  day  of  battle, 
and  had  maintained  his  ground  against  them 
with  such  invincible  power,  he  was,  neverthe- 
less, a  few  days  afterward,  driven  entirely  off 
the  field,  and  completely  away  from  the  region 
where  the  battle  had  been  fought.     What  the 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great  Victory.  207 

Alexander  driven  from  the  field.  March  to  Babylon. 

living  men,  standing  erect  in  arms,  and  full  of 
martial  vigor,  could  not  do,  was  easily  and  ef- 
fectually accomplished  by  their  dead  bodies  cor- 
rupting on  the  plain.  The  corpses  of  three 
hundred  thousand  men,  and  an  equal  bulk  of 
the  bodies  of  elephants  and  horses,  was  too 
enormous  a  mass  to  be  buried.  It  had  to  be 
abandoned ;  and  the  horrible  effluvia  and  pesti- 
lence which  it  emitted  drove  all  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country  away.  Alexander  marched  his 
troops  rapidly  off  the  ground,  leaving,  as  the  di- 
rect result  of  the  battle,  a  wide  extent  of  coun- 
try depopulated  and  desolate,  with  this  vast 
mass  of  putrefaction  and  pestilence  reigning  in 
awful  silence  and  solitude  in  the  midst  of  it. 

Alexander  went  to  Babylon.  The  governor 
of  the  city  prepared 'to  receive  him  as  a  con- 
queror. The  people  came  out  in  throngs  to 
meet  him,  and  all  the  avenues  of  approach  were 
crowded  with  spectators.  All  the  city  walls, 
too,  were  covered  with  men  and  women,  assem- 
bled to  witness  the  scene.  As  for  Alexander 
himself,  he  was  filled  with  pride  and  pleasure  at 
thus  arriving  at  the  full  accomplishment  of  his 
earliest  and  long-cherished  dreams  of  glory. 

The  great  store-house  of  the  royal  treasures 
of  Persia  was  at  Susa,  a  strong  city  east  of  Bab- 


208    Alexander  the   Great.    [B.C.  331. 

Surrender  of  Susa.  Plunder  of  the  palace. 

ylon.  Susa  was  the  winter  residence  of  the  Per- 
sian kings,  as  Ecbatana,  further  north,  among 
the  mountains,  was  their  summer  residence. 
There  was  a  magnificent  palace  and  a  very 
strong  citadel  at  Susa,  and  the  treasures  were 
kept  in  the  citadel.  It  is  said  that  in  times  of 
peace  the  Persian  monarchs  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  collect  coin,  melt  it  down,  and  cast  the 
gold  in  earthen  jars.  The  jars  were  afterward 
broken  off  from  the  gold,  leaving  the  bullion  in 
the  form  of  the  interior  of  the  jars.  An  enor- 
mous amount  of  gold  and  silver,  and  of  other 
treasures,  had  been  thus  collected.  Alexander 
was  aware  of  this  depository  before  he  advanced 
to  meet  Darius,  and,  on  the  day  of  the  battle 
of  Arbela,  as  soon  as  the  victory  was  decided, 
he  sent  an  officer  from  the  very  field  to  summon 
Susa  to  surrender.  They  obeyed  the  summons, 
and  Alexander,  soon  after  his  great  public  en- 
trance into  Babylon,  marched  to  Susa,  and  took 
possession  of  the  vast  stores  of  wealth  accumu- 
lated there.  The  amount  was  enormous,  both 
in  quantity  and  value,  and  the  seizing  of  it  was 
a  very  magnificent  act  of  plunder.  In  fact,  it 
is  probable  that  Alexander's  slaughter  of  the 
Persian  army  at  Arbela,  and  subsequent  spoli- 
ation of  Susa,  constitute,  taken  together,  the 


B.C.  331.]  The   Great   Victory.  209 

Wholesale  robbery  and  murder.  Immense  treasures. 

most  gigantic  case  of  murder  and  robbery  which 
was  ever  committed  by  man ;  so  that,  in  per- 
forming these  deeds,  the  great  hero  attained  at 
last  to  the  glory  of  having  perpetrated  the  grand- 
est and  most  imposing  of  all  human  crimes. 
That  these  deeds  were  really  crimes  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  when  we  consider  that  Alexander 
did  not  pretend  to  have  any  other  motive  in  this 
invasion  than  love  of  conquest,  which  is,  in  oth- 
er words,  love  of  violence  and  plunder.  They 
are  only  technically  shielded  from  being  called 
crimes  by  the  fact  that  the  earth  has  no  laws 
and  no  tribunals  high  enough  to  condemn  such 
enormous  burglaries  as  that  of  one  quarter  of 
the  globe  breaking  violently  and  murderously  in 
upon  and  robbing  the  other. 

Besides  the  treasures,  Alexander  found  also 
at  Susa  a  number  of  trophies  which  had  been 
brought  by  Xerxes  from  Greece  ;  for  Xerxes 
had  invaded  Greece  some  hundred  years  before 
Alexander's  day,  and  had  brought  to  Susa  the 
spoils  and  the  trophies  of  his  victories.  Alex- 
ander sent  them  all  back  to  Greece  again. 

From  Susa  the  conqueror  moved  on  to  Per- 
sepolis,  the  great  Persian  capital.  On  his  march 
he  had  to  pass  through  a  defile  of  the  mount- 
ains. The  mountaineers  had  been  accustomed 
O 


210     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  331. 

Pass  of  Susa.  The  mountaineers. 

to  exact  tribute  here  of  all  who  passed,  having 
a  sort  of  right,  derived  from  ancient  usage,  to 
the  payment  of  a  toll.  They  sent  to  Alexan- 
der when  they  heard  that  he  was  approaching, 
and  informed  him  that  he  could  not  pass  with 
his  army  without  paying  the  customary  toll. 
Alexander  sent  back  word  that  he  would  meet 
them  at  the  pass,  and  give  them  their  due. 

They  understood  this,  and  prepared  to  defend 
the  pass.  Some  Persian  troops  joined  them. 
They  built  walls  and  barricades  across  the  nar- 
row passages.  They  collected  great  stones  on 
the  brinks  of  precipices,  and  on  the  declivities 
of  the  mountains,  to  roll  down  upon  the  heads 
of  their  enemies.  By  these  and  every  other 
means  they  attempted  to  stop  Alexander's  pas- 
sage. But  he  had  contrived  to  send  detach- 
ments around  by  circuitous  and  precipitous 
paths,  which  even  the  mountaineers  had  deem- 
ed impracticable,  and  thus  attack  his  enemies 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  from  above  their 
own  positions.  As  usual,  his  plan  succeeded. 
The  mountaineers  were  driven  away,  and  the 
conqueror  advanced  toward  the  great  Persian 
capital. 


B.C.  330.]     Death  of   Darius.  213 

March  to  Persepolis.  Reckless  cruelty. 


Chapter  X. 
The   Death  of   Darius. 

ALEXANDER'S  march  from  Susa  to  Per- 
sepolis was  less  a  march  than  a  triumphal 
progress.  He  felt  the  pride  and  elation  so  natu- 
rally resulting  from  success  very  strongly.  The 
moderation  and  forbearance  which  had  charac- 
terized him  in  his  earlier  years,  gradually  disap- 
peared as  he  became  great  and  powerful.  He 
was  intoxicated  with  his  success.  He  became 
haughty,  vain,  capricious,  and  cruel.  As  he  ap- 
proached Persepolis,  he  conceived  the  idea  that, 
as  this  city  was  the  capital  and  center  of  the 
Persian  monarchy,  and,  as  such,  the  point  from 
which  had  emanated  all  the  Persian  hostility  to 
Greece,  he  owed  it  some  signal  retribution.  Ac- 
cordingly, although  the  inhabitants  made  no  op- 
position to  his  entrance,  he  marched  in  with  the 
phalanx  formed,  and  gave  the  soldiers  liberty  to 
kill  and  plunder  as  they  pleased. 

There  was  another  very  striking  instance  of 
the  capricious  recklessness  now  beginning  to  ap- 
pear in  Alexander's  character,  which  occurred 


214    Alexander   the   Great.   [B.C.  333. 

The  banquet.  Thais  proposes  to  burn  the  Persian  palace. 

soon  after  he  had  taken  possession  of  Persepolis. 
He  was  giving  a  great  banquet  to  his  friends, 
the  officers  of  the  army,  and  to  Persians  of  dis- 
tinction among  those  who  had  submitted  to  him. 
There  was,  among  other  women  at  this  banquet, 
a  very  beautiful  and  accomplished  female  named 
Thais.  Alexander  made  her  his  favorite  and 
companion,  though  she  was  not  his  wife.  Thais 
did  all  in  her  power  to  captivate  and  please  Al- 
exander during  the  feast  by  her  vivacity,  her 
wit,  her  adroit  attentions  to  him,  and  the  dis- 
play of  her  charms,  and  at  length,  when  he  him- 
self, as  well  as  the  other  guests,  were  excited 
with  wine,  she  asked  him  to  allow  her  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  going  herself  and  setting  fire, 
with  her  own  hands,  to  the  great  palace  of  the 
Persian  kings  in  the  city.  Thais  was  a  native 
of  Attica  in  Greece,  a  kingdom  of  which  Ath- 
ens was  the  capital.  Xerxes,  who  had  built  the 
great  palace  of  Persepolis,  had  formerly  invaded 
Greece  and  had  burned  Athens,  and  now  Thais 
desired  to  burn  his  palace  in  Persepolis,  to  grat- 
ify her  revenge,  by  making,  of  its  conflagration, 
an  evening  spectacle  to  entertain  the  Macedo- 
nian party  after  their  supper.  Alexander  agreed 
to  the  proposal,  and  the  whole  company  moved 
forward.     Taking  the  torches  from  the  banquet- 


B.C.  330.]       Death  of   Darius.  215 

Conflagration  of  the  palace.  Sublimity  of  the  scene. 


ing  halls,  they  sallied  forth,  alarming  the  city 
with  their  shouts,  and  with  the  flashing  of  the 
lights  they  bore.  The  plan  of  Thais  was  car- 
ried fully  into  effect,  every  half-intoxicated  guest- 
assisting,  by  putting  fire  to  the  immense  pile 
wherever  they  could  get  access  to  it.  They  per- 
formed the  barbarous  deed  with  shouts  of  ven- 
geance and  exultation. 

There  is,  however,  something  very  solemn 
and  awful  in  a  great  conflagration  at  night,  and. 
very  few  incendiaries  can  gaze  upon  the  fury  of 
the  lurid  and  frightful  flames  which  they  have 
caused  to  ascend  without  some  misgivings  and 
some  remorse.  Alexander  was  sobered  by  the 
grand  and  sublime,  but  terrible  spectacle.  He 
was  awed  by  it.  He  repented.  He  ordered  the 
fire  to  be  extinguished  ;  but  it  was  too  late. 
The  palace  was  destroyed,  and  one  new  blot, 
which  has  never  since  been  effaced,  was  cast 
upon  Alexander's  character  and  fame. 

And  yet,  notwithstanding  these  increasing 
proofs  of  pride  and  cruelty,  which  were  begin- 
ning to  be  developed,  Alexander  still  preserved 
some  of  the  early  traits  of  character  which  had 
made  him  so  great  a  favorite  in  the  commence- 
ment of  his  career.  He  loved  his  mother,  and 
sent  her  presents  continually  from  the  treasures 


210    Alexander   t  h  e    G  r  e  a  t.    [B.C.  330. 

Olympias.  Her  letters  to  Alexander. 

which  were  falling  all  the  time  into  his  posses- 
sion. She  was  a  woman  of  a  proud,  imperious, 
and  ungovernable  character,  and  she  made  An- 
tipater,  whom  Alexander  had  left  in  command 
in  Macedon,  infinite  trouble.  She  wanted  to 
exercise  the  powers  of  government  herself,  and 
was  continually  urging  this.  Alexander  would 
not  comply  with  these  wishes,  but  he  paid  her 
personally  every  attention  in  his  power,  and 
bore  all  her  invectives  and  reproaches  with  great 
patience  and  good  humor.  At  one  time  he  re- 
ceived a  long  letter  from  Antipater,  full  of  com- 
plaints against  her  ;  but  Alexander,  after  read- 
ing it,  said  that  they  were  heavy  charges  it  was 
true,  but  that  a  single  one  of  his  mother's  tears 
would  outweigh  ten  thousand  such  accusations. 
Olympias  used  to  write  very  frequently  to 
Alexander,  and  in  these  letters  she  would  criti- 
cise and  discuss  his  proceedings,  and  make  com- 
ments upon  the  characters  and  actions  of  his 
generals.  Alexander  kept  these  letters  very  se- 
cret, never  showing  them  to  any  one.  One  day, 
however,  when  he  was  reading  one  of  thejcse  let- 
ters, Hephaestion,  the  personal  friend  and  com- 
panion who  has  been  already  several  times  men- 
tioned, came  up,  half  playfully,  and  began  to 
louk  over  his  shoulder.     Alexander  went  on.  al- 


B.C.  330.] 

Death   of   Darius.              217 

Sysigambis. 

Alexander's  kindness  to  her. 

lowing  him  to  read,  and  then,  when  the  letter 
was  finished  he  took  the  signet  ring  from  his 
finger  and  pressed  it  upon  Hephaestion's  lips,  a 
signal  for  silence  and  secrecy. 

Alexander  was  very  kind  to  Sysigambis,  the 
mother  of  Darius,  and  also  to  Darius's  children. 
He  would  not  give  these  unhappy  captives  their 
liberty,  but  in  every  other  respect  he  treated 
them  with  the  greatest  possible  kindness  and 
consideration.  He  called  Sysigambis  mother, 
loaded  her  with  presents — presents,  it  is  true, 
which  he  had  plundered  from  her  son,  but  to 
which  it  was  considered,  in  those  days,  that  he 
had  acquired  a  just  and  perfect  title.  When  he 
reached  Susa,  he  established  Sysigambis  and 
the  children  there  in  great  state.  This  had  been 
their  usual  residence  in  most  seasons  of  the  year, 
when  not  at  Persepolis,  so  that  here  they  were, 
as  it  were,  at  home.  Ecbatana*  was,  as  has 
been  already  mentioned,  further  north,  among 
the  mountains.  After  the  battle  of  Arbela, 
while  Alexander  marched  to  Babylon  and  to 
Susa,  Darius  had  fled  to  Ecbatana,  and  was  now 
there,  his  family  being  thus  at  one  of  the  royal 
palaces  under  the  command  of  the  conqueror, 
and  he  himself  independent,  but  insecure,  in  the 
rf  The  modern  Ispahan. 


218    Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  330 

Darins  at  Ecbatana.  His  speech  to  his  army. 

other.  He  had  with  him  about  forty  thousand 
men,  who  still  remained  faithful  to  his  fallen 
fortunes.  Among  these  were  several  thousand 
Greeks,  whom  he  had  collected  in  Asia  Minor 
and  other  Grecian  countries,  and  whom  he  had 
attached  to  his  service  by  means  of  pay. 

He  called  the  officers  of  his  army  together, 
and  explained  to  them  the  determination  that 
he  had  come  to  in  respect  to  his  future  move- 
ments. "  A  large  part  of  those,"  said  he,  "  who 
formerly  served  as  officers  of  my  government, 
have  abandoned  me  in  my  adversity,  and  gone 
over  to  Alexander's  side.  They  have  surren- 
dered to  him  the  towns,  and  citadels,  and  prov- 
inces which  I  intrusted  to  their  fidelity.  You 
alone  remain  faithful  and  true.  As  for  myself, 
I  might  yield  to  the  conqueror,  and  have  him 
assign  to  me  some  province  or  kingdom  to  gov- 
ern as  his  subordinate  ;  but  I  will  never  sub- 
mit to  such  a  degradation.  I  can  die  in  the 
struggle,  but  never  will  yield.  I  will  wear  no 
crown  which  another  puts  upon  my  brow,  nor 
give  up  my  right  to  reign  over  the  empire  of 
my  ancestors  till  I  give  up  my  life.  If  you 
agree  with  me  in  this  determination,  let  us  act 
energetically  upon  it.  We  have  it  in  our  pow- 
er to  terminate  the  injuries  we  are  suffering,  or 
else  to  avenge  them." 


B.C.  330.]      Death  of   Darius.  219 


Conspiracy  against  Darius.  Bessus  and  his  confederates. 


The  army  responded  most  cordially  to  this 
appeal.  They  were  ready,  they  said,  to  follow 
him  wherever  he  should  lead.  All  this  appar- 
ent enthusiasm,  however,  was  very  delusive  and 
unsubstantial.  A  general  named  Bessus,  com- 
bining with  some  other  officers  in  the  army,  con- 
ceived the  plan  of  seizing  Darius  and  making 
him  a  prisoner,  and  then  taking  command  of 
the  army  himself.  If  Alexander  should  pursue 
him,  and  be  likely  to  overtake  and  conquer  him, 
he  then  thought  that,  by  giving  up  Darius  as  a 
prisoner,  he  could  stipulate  for  liberty  and  safe- 
ty, and  perhaps  great  rewards,  both  for  himself 
and  for  those  who  acted  with  him.  If,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  should  succeed  in  increasing 
their  own  forces  so  as  to  make  head  against  Al- 
exander, and  finally  to  drive  him  away,  then 
Bessus  was  to  usurp  the  throne,  and  dispose  of 
Darius  by  assassinating  him,  or  imprisoning 
him  for  life  in  some  remote  and  solitary  castle. 

Bessus  communicated  his  plans,  very  cau- 
tiously at  first,  to  the  leading  officers  of  the 
army.  The  Greek  soldiers  were  not  included 
in  the  plot.  They,  however,  heard  and  saw 
enough  to  lead  them  to  suspect  what  was  in 
preparation.  They  warned  Darius,  and  urged 
him  to  rely  upon  them  more  than  he  had  done ; 


220    Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  330. 

Advance  of  Alexander.  Retreat  of  Darius.  The  Caspian  Gates. 

to  make  them  his  body-guard,  and  to  pitch  his 
tent  in  their  part  of  the  encampment.  But  Da- 
rius declined  these  proposals.  He  would  not, 
he  said,  distrust  and  abandon  his  countrymen, 
who  were  his  natural  protectors,  and  put  him- 
self in  the  hands  of  strangers.  He  would  not 
betray  and  desert  his  friends  in  anticipation  of 
their  deserting  and  betraying  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  Alexander  advanced  to- 
ward Ecbatana,  Darius  and  his  forces  retreated 
from  it  toward  the  eastward,  through  the  great 
tract  of  country  lying  south  of  the  Caspian  Sea. 
There  is  a  mountainous  region  here,  with  a  de- 
file traversing  it,  through  which  it  would  be 
necessary  for  Darius  to  pass.  This  defile  was 
called  the  Caspian  Gates,*  the  name  referring 
to  rocks  on  each  side.  The  marching  of  an 
army  through  a  narrow  and  dangerous  defile 
like  this  always  causes  detention  and  delay,  and 
Alexander  hastened  forward  in  hopes  to  over- 
take Darius  before  he  should  reach  it.  He  ad- 
vanced with  such  speed  that  only  the  strongest 
and  most  robust  of  his  army  could  keep  up. 
Thousands,  worn  out  with  exertion  and  toil, 
were  left  behind,  and  many  of  the  horses  sank 
down  by  the  road  side,  exhausted  with  heat  and 

*  Pyl<e  Caspiw  on  the  niuj),  which  means  the  Caspian  Gates. 


B.C.  330.]     Death   of    Darius.  221 

Pursuit  of  Darius.  Foraging  parties 

fatigue,  to  die.  Alexander  pressed  desperately 
on  with  all  who  were  able  to  follow. 

It  was  all  in  vain,  however ;  it  was  too  late 
when  he  arrived  at  the  pass.  Darius  had  gone 
through  with  all  his  army.  Alexander  stopped 
to  rest  his  men,  and  to  allow  time  for  those  be- 
hind to  come  up.  He  then  went  on  for  a  couple 
of  days,  when  he  encamped,  in  order  to  send  out 
foraging  parties — that  is  to  say,  small  detach- 
ments, dispatched  to  explore  the  surrounding 
country  in  search  of  grain  and  other  food  for  the 
hordes.  Food  for  the  horses  of  an  army  being 
too  bulky  to  be  transported  far,  has  to  be  col- 
lected day  by  day  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
line  of  march. 

While  halting  for  these  foraging  parties  to 
return,  a  Persian  nobleman  came  into  the  camp, 
and  informed  Alexander  that  Darius  and  the 
forces  accompanying  him  were  encamped  about 
two  days'  march  in  advance,  but  that  Bessus 
was  in  command — the  conspiracy  having  been 
successful,  and  Darius  having  been  deposed  and 
made  a  prisoner.  The  Greeks,  who  had  ad- 
hered to  their  fidelity,  finding  that  all  the  army 
were  combined  against  them,  and  that  they 
were  not  strong  enough  to  resist,  had  abandon- 
ed the  Persian  camp,  and  had  retired  to  the 


222    Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  330. 

The  pursuit  continued.  Alexander  stops  to  rest  his  army. 

mountains,  where  they  were  awaiting  the  re- 
sult. 

Alexander  determined  to  set  forward  imme- 
diately in  pursuit  of  Bessus  and  his  prisoner. 
He  did  not  wait  for  the  return  of  the  foraging 
parties.  He  selected  the  ablest  and  most  act- 
ive, both  of  foot  soldiers  and  horsemen,  ordered 
them  to  take  two  days'  provisions,  and  then  set 
forth  with  them  that  very  evening.  The  party 
pressed  on  all  that  night,  and  the  next  day  till 
noon.  They  halted  till  evening,  and  then  set 
forth  again.  Very  early  the  next  morning  they 
arrived  at  the  encampment  which  the  Persian 
nobleman  had  described.  They  found  the  re- 
mains of  the  camp-fires,  and  all  the  marks  usu- 
ally left  upon  a  spot  which  has  been  used  as  the 
bivouac  of  an  army.  The  army  itself,  however, 
was  gone. 

The  pursuers  were  now  too  much  fatigued  to 
go  any  further  without  rest.  Alexander  remain- 
ed here,  accordingly,  through  the  day,  to  give 
his  men  and  his  horses  refreshment  and  repose. 
That  night  they  set  forward  again,  and  the  next 
day  at  noon  they  arrived  at  another  encamp- 
ment of  the  Persians,  which  they  had  left  scarce- 
ly twenty-four  hours  before.  The  officers  of  Al- 
exander's armv  were  excited  and  animated  in 


B.C.  330.]     Death    of    Darius.  223 

Want  of  water.  Disregarded  by  Alexander. 

the  highest  degree,  as  they  found  themselves 
thus  drawing  so  near  to  the  great  object  of  their 
pursuit.  They  were  ready  for  any  exertions, 
any  privation  and  fatigue,  any  measures,  how- 
ever extraordinary,  to  accomplish  their  end. 

Alexander  inquired  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
place  whether  there  were  not  some  shorter  road 
than  the  one  along  which  the  enemy  were  mov- 
ing. There  was  one  cross-road,  but  it  led 
through  a  desolate  and  desert  tract  of  land,  des- 
titute of  water.  In  the  march  of  an  army,  as 
the  men  are  always  heavily  loaded  with  arms 
and  provisions,  and  water  can  not  be  carried,  it 
is  always  considered  essential  to  choose  routes 
which  will  furnish  supplies  of  water  by  the  way. 
Alexander,  however,  disregarded  this  considera- 
tion here,  and  prepared  at  once  to  push  into  the 
cross-road  with  a  small  detachment.  He  had 
been  now  two  years  advancing  from  Macedon 
into  the  heart  of  Asia,  always  in  quest  of  Da- 
rius as  his  great  opponent  and  enemy.  He  had 
conquered  his  armies,  taken  his  cities,  plunder- 
ed his  palaces,  and  made  himself  master  of  his 
whole  realm.  Still,  so  long  as  Darius  himself 
remained  at  liberty  and  in  the  field,  no  victories 
could  be  considered  as  complete.  To  capture 
Darius  himself  would  be  the  last  and  crowning 


224     Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  3o0. 

The  pursuit  grows  more  exciting.  Guides  employed. 


act  of  his  conquest.  He  had  now  been  pursu- 
ing him  for  eighteen  hundred  miles,  advancing 
slowly  from  province  to  province,  and  from  king- 
dom to  kingdom.  During  all  this  time  the 
strength  of  his  flying  foe  had  been  wasting 
away.  His  armies  had  been  broken  up,  his 
courage  and  hope  had  gradually  failed,  while 
the  animation  and  hope  of  the  pursuer  had  been 
gathering  fresh  and  increasing  strength  from  his 
successes,  and  were  excited  to  wild  enthusiasm 
now,  as  the  hour  for  the  final  consummation  of 
all  his  desires  seemed  to  be  drawing  nigh. 

Guides  were  ordered  to  be  furnished  by  the 
inhabitants,  to  show  the  detachment  the  way 
across  the  solitary  and  desert  country.  The 
detachment  was  to  consist  of  horsemen  entirely, 
that  they  might  advance  with  the  utmost  celer- 
ity. To  get  as  efficient  a  corps  as  possible,  Al- 
exander dismounted  five  hundred  of  the  cavalry, 
and  gave  their  horses  to  five  hundred  men — offi- 
cers and  others — selected  for  their  strength  and 
courage  from  among  the  foot  soldiers.  All  were 
ambitious  of  being  designated  for  this  service. 
Besides  the  honor  of  being  so  selected,  there 
was  an  intense  excitement,  as  usual  toward  the 
close  of  a  chase,  to  arrive  at  the  end. 

This  bodv  of  horsemen  were  ready  to  set  out 


B.C.  330.]     Death   of   Darius.  225 

The  Persians  overtaken.  Murder  of  Darius. 

in  the  evening.  Alexander  took  the  command, 
and,  following  the  guides,  they  trotted  off  in  the 
direction  which  the  guides  indicated.  They 
traveled  all  night.  When  the  day  dawned,  they 
saw,  from  an  elevation  to  which  they  had  at- 
tained, the  body  of  the  Persian  troops  moving 
at  a  short  distance  before  them,  foot  soldiers, 
chariots,  and  horsemen  pressing  on  together  in 
great  confusion  and  disorder. 

As  soon  as  Bessus  and  his  company  found 
that  their  pursuers  were  close  upon  them,  they 
attempted  at  first  to  hurry  forward,  in  the  vain 
hope  of  still  effecting  their  escape.  Darius  was 
in  a  chariot.  They  urged  this  chariot  on,  but 
it  moved  heavily.  Then  they  concluded  to  aban- 
don it,  and  they  called  upon  Darius  to  mount 
a  horse  and  ride  off  with  them,  leaving  the  rest 
of  the  army  and  the  baggage  to  its  fate.  But 
Darius  refused.  He  said  he  would  rather  trust 
himself  in  the  hands  of  Alexander  than  in  those 
of  such  traitors  as  they.  Rendered  desperate 
by  their  situation,  and  exasperated  by  this  re- 
ply, Bessus  and  his  confederates  thrust  their 
spears  into  Darius's  body,  as  he  sat  in  his  char- 
iot, and  then  galloped  away.  They  divided  into 
different  parties,  each  taking  a  different  road. 
Their  object  in  doing  this  was  to  increase  their 
P 


226     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  330. 

Sufferings  of  Darius.  Treachery  of  friends. 

chances  of  escape  by  confusing  Alexander  in  his 
plans  for  pursuing  them.  Alexander  pressed 
on  toward  the  ground  which  the  enemy  were 
abandoning,  and  sent  off  separate  detachments 
after  the  various  divisions  of  the  flying  army. 

In  the  mean  time  Darius  remained  in  his 
chariot  wounded  and  bleeding.  He  was  worn 
out  and  exhausted,  both  in  body  and  mind,  by 
his  complicated  sufferings  and  sorrows.  His 
kingdom  lost ;  his  family  in  captivity ;  his  be- 
loved wife  in  the  grave,  where  the  sorrows  and 
sufferings  of  separation  from  her  husband  had 
borne  her ;  his  cities  sacked ;  his  palaces  and 
treasures  plundered  ;  and  now  he  himself,  in  the 
last  hour  of  his  extremity,  abandoned  and  be- 
trayed by  all  in  whom  he  had  placed  his  confi- 
dence and  trust,  his  heart  sunk  within  him  in 
despair.  At  such  a  time  the  soul  turns  from 
traitorous  friends  to  an  open  foe  with  something 
like  a  feeling  of  confidence  and  attachment.  Da- 
rius's  exasperation  against  Bessus  was  so  in- 
tense, that  his  hostility  to  Alexander  became  a 
species  of  friendship  in  comparison.  He  felt 
that  Alexander  was  a  sovereign  like  himself, 
and  would  have  some  sympathy  and  fellow-feel- 
ing for  a  sovereign's  misfortunes.  He  thought, 
too,  of  his  mother,  his  wife,  and  his  children,  and 


B.C.  330.]       Death  of   Darius.  227 

Darius  found.  Sufferings  from  thirst. 

the  kindness  with  which  Alexander  had  treated 
them  went  to  his  heart.  He  lay  there,  accord- 
ingly, faint  and  bleeding  in  his  chariot,  and  look- 
ing for  the  coming  of  Alexander  as  for  that  of 
a  protector  and  friend,  the  only  one  to  whom  he 
could  now  look  for  any  relief  in  the  extremity 
of  his  distress. 

The  Macedonians  searched  about  in  various 
places,  thinking  it  possible  that  in  the  sudden 
dispersion  of  the  enemy  Darius  might  have  been 
left  behind.  At  last  the  chariot  in  which  he  was 
lying  was  found.  Darius  was  in  it,  pierced  with 
spears.  The  floor  of  the  chariot  was  covered 
with  blood.  They  raised  him  a  little,  and  he 
spoke.     He  called  for  water. 

Men  wounded  and  dying  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle are  tormented  always  with  an  insatiable  and 
intolerable  thirst,  the  manifestations  of  which 
constitute  one  of  the  greatest  horrors  of  the 
scene.  They  cry  piteously  to  all  who  pass  to 
bring  them  water,  or  else  to  kill  them.  They 
crawl  along  the  ground  to  get  at  the  canteens 
of  their  dead  companions,  in  hopes  to  find,  re- 
maining in  them,  some  drops  to  drink  ;  and  if 
there  is  a  little  brook  meandering  through  the 
battle-field,  its  bed  gets  filled  and  choked  up 
with  the  bodies  of  those  who  crawled  there,  in 


228     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  330. 

Darius  calls  for  water.  The  interpreter. 

their  agony,  to  quench  their  horrible  thirst,  and 
die.  Darius  was  suffering  this  thirst.  It  bore 
down  and  silenced,  for  the  time,  every  other  suf- 
fering, so  that  his  first  cry,  when  his  enemies 
came  around  him  with  shouts  of  exultation,  was 
not  for  his  life,  not  for  mercy,  not  for  relief  from 
the  pain  and  anguish  of  his  wounds — he  begged 
them  to  give  him  some  water. 

He  spoke  through  an  interpreter.  The  inter- 
preter was  a  Persian  prisoner  whom  the  Mace- 
donian army  had  taken  some  time  before,  and 
who  had  learned  the  Greek  language  in  the 
Macedonian  camp.  Anticipating  some  occasion 
for  his  services,  they  had  brought  him  with 
them  now,  and  it  was  through  him  that  Darius 
called  for  water.  A  Macedonian  soldier  went 
immediately  to  get  some.  Others  hurried  away 
in  search  of  Alexander,  to  bring  him  to  the  spot 
where  the  great  object  of  his  hostility,  and  of 
his  long  and  protracted  pursuit,  was  dying. 

Darius  received  the  drink.  He  then  said  that 
he  was  extremely  glad  that  they  had  an  inter- 
preter with  them,  who  could  understand  him, 
and  bear  his  message  to  Alexander.  He  had 
been  afraid  that  he  should  have  had  to  die  with- 
out being  able  to  communicate  what  he  had  to 
say.     "Tell  Alexander,"  said  he,  then,  "that 


B.C.  330.]     Death   of    Darius.  229 

Darius's  message  to  Alexander.  Affecting  scene. 

I  feel  under  the  strongest  obligations  to  him, 
which  I  can  now  never  repay,  for  his  kindness 
to  my  wife,  my  mother,  and  my  children.  He 
not  only  spared  their  lives,  but  treated  them 
with  the  greatest  consideration  and  care,  and 
did  all  in  his  power  to  make  them  happy.  The 
last  feeling  in  my  heart  is  gratitude  to  him  for 
these  favors.  I  hope  now  that  he  will  go  on 
prosperously,  and  finish  his  conquests  as  tri- 
umphantly as  he  has  begun  them."  He  would 
have  made  one  last  request,  he  added,  if  he  had 
thought  it  necessary,  and  that  was,  that  Alex- 
ander would  pursue  the  traitor  Bessus,  and 
avenge  the  murder  he  had  committed ;  but  he 
was  sure  that  Alexander  would  do  this  of  his 
own  accord,  as  the  punishment  of  such  treach- 
ery was  an  object  of  common  interest  for  every 
king. 

Darius  then  took  Polystratus,  the  Macedo- 
nian who  had  brought  him  the  water,  by  the 
hand,  saying,  "  Give  Alexander  thy  hand  as  I 
now  give  thee  mine ;  it  is  the  pledge  of  my 
gratitude  and  affection." 

Darius  was  too  weak  to  say  much  more. 
They  gathered  around  him,  endeavoring  to  sus- 
tain his  strength  until  Alexander  should  arrive  f 
but  it  was  all  in  vain.     He  sank  gradually,  and 


230      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  330. 

Alexander's  grief  at  Darius's  death.       He  sends  the  body  to  Sysigambis. 

soon  ceased  to  breathe.  Alexander  came  up  a 
few  minutes  after  all  was  over.  He  was  at 
first  shocked  at  the  spectacle  before  him,  and 
then  overwhelmed  with  grief.  He  wept  bitter- 
ly. Some  compunctions  of  conscience  may  have 
visited  his  heart  at  seeing  thus  before  him  the 
ruin  he  had  made.  Darius  had  never  injured 
him  or  done  him  any  wrong,  and  yet  here  he 
lay,  hunted  to  death  by  a  persevering  and  re- 
lentless hostility,  for  which  his  conqueror  had 
no  excuse  but  his  innate  love  of  dominion  over 
his  fellow-men.  Alexander  spread  his  own  mil- 
itary cloak  over  the  dead  body.  He  immedi- 
ately made  arrangements  for  having  the  body 
embalmed,  and  then  sent  it  to  Susa,  for  Sysi- 
gambis,  in  a  very  costly  coffin,  and  with  a  pro- 
cession of  royal  magnificence.  He  sent  it  to 
her  that  she  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  see- 
ing it  deposited  in  the  tombs  of  the  Persian 
kings.  What  a  present !  The  killer  of  a  son 
sending  the  dead  body,  in  a  splendid  coffin,  to 
the  mother,  as  a  token  of  respectful  regard  ! 

Alexander  pressed  on  to  the  northward  and 
eastward  in  pursuit  of  Bessus,  who  had  soon 
collected  the  scattered  remains  of  his  army,  and 
was  doing  his  utmost  to  get  into  a  postare  of 
defense.     He  did  not,  however,  overtake  him  till 


B.C.  330.]     Death   of   Darius.  231 


Crossing  the  Oxus. Capture  of  the  traitor  Bessus. 

he  had  crossed  the  Oxus,  a  large  river  which 
will  be  found  upon  the  map,  flowing  to  the 
northward  and  westward  into  the  Caspian  Sea. 
He  had  great  difficulty  in  crossing  this  river,  as 
it  was  too  deep  to  be  forded,  and  the  banks  and 
bottom  were  so  sandy  and  yielding  that  he  could 
not  make  the  foundations  of  bridges  stand.  He 
accordingly  made  floats  and  rafts,  which  were 
supported  by  skins  made  buoyant  by  inflation, 
or  by  being  stuffed  with  straw  and  hay.  After 
getting  his  army,  which  had  been  in  the  mean 
time  greatly  re-enforced  and  strengthened,  across 
this  river,  he  moved  on.  The  generals  under 
Bessus,  finding  all  hope  of  escape  failing  them, 
resolved  on  betraying  him  as  he  had  betrayed 
his  commander.  They  sent  word  to  Alexander 
that  if  he  would  send  forward  a  small  force 
where  they  should  indicate,  they  would  give  up 
Bessus  to  his  hands.  Alexander  did  so,  intrust- 
ing the  command  to  an  officer  named  Ptolemy. 
Ptolemy  found  Bessus  in  a  small  walled  town 
whither  he  had  fled  for  refuge,  and  easily  took 
him  prisoner.  He  sent  back  word  to  Alexander 
that  Bessus  was  at  his  disposal,  and  asked  for 
orders.  The  answer  was,  "Put  a  rope  around 
his  neck  and  send  him  to  me." 

When  the  wretched   prisoner  was  brought 


2o2    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  330. 

Mutilation  of  Bessus.  He  is  sent  to  Sysigambis. 

into  Alexander's  presence,  Alexander  demand- 
ed of  him  how  he  could  have  been  so  base  as  to 
have  seized,  bound,  and  at  last  murdered  his 
kinsman  and  benefactor.  It  is  a  curious  in- 
stance in  proof  of  the  permanence  and  stability 
of  the  great  characteristics  of  human  nature, 
through  all  the  changes  of  civilization  and  lapses 
of  time,  that  Bessus  gave  the  same  answer  that 
wrong-doers  almost  always  give  when  brought 
to  account  for  their  wrongs.  He  laid  the  fault 
upon  his  accomplices  and  friends.  It  was  not 
his  act,  it  was  theirs. 

Alexander  ordered  him  to  be  publicly  scourg- 
ed ;  then  he  caused  his  face  to  be  mutilated  in 
a  manner  customary  in  those  days,  when  a  ty- 
rant wished  to  stamp  upon  his  victim  a  perpet- 
ual mark  of  infamy.  In  this  condition,  and 
with  a  mind  in  an  agony  of  suspense  and  fear 
at  the  thought  of  worse  tortures  which  he  knew 
were  to  come,  Alexander  sent  him  as  a  second 
present  to  Sysigambis,  to  be  dealt  with,  at  Susa, 
as  her  revenge  might  direct.  She  inflicted  upon 
him  the  most  extreme  tortures,  and  finally, 
when  satiated  with  the  pleasure  of  seeing  him 
suffer,  the  story  is  that  they  chose  four  very 
elastic  trees,  growing  at  a  little  distance  from 
each  other,  and  bent  down  the  tops  of  them  to- 


B.C. 330.]     Death   of   Darius.  233 

Terrible  punishment  of  Bessus. 

ward  the  central  point  between  them.  They 
fastened  the  exhausted  and  dying  Bessus  to 
these  trees,  one  limb  of  his  body  to  each,  and 
then  releasing  the  stems  from  their  confinement, 
they  flew  upward,  tearing  the  body  asunder, 
each  holding  its  own  dissevered  portion,  as  if  in 
triumph,  far  over  the  heads  of  the  multitude 
assembled  to  witness  the  spectacle. 


2'oA     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  329. 

Alexander  at  the  summit  of  his  ambition.  Sad  changes. 


Chapter  XI. 
Deterioration  of  Character. 

ALEXANDER  was  now  twenty-six  years 
of  age.  He  had  accomplished  fully  the 
great  objects  which  had  been  the  aim  of  his  am- 
bition. Darius  was  dead,  and  he  was  himself 
the  undisputed  master  of  all  western  Asia .  His 
wealth  was  almost  boundless.  His  power  was 
supreme  over  what  was,  in  his  view,  the  whole 
known  world.  But,  during  the  process  of  ris- 
ing to  this  ascendency,  his  character  was  sadly 
changed.  He  lost  the  simplicity,  the  temper- 
ance, the  moderation,  and  the  sense  of  justice 
which  characterized  his  early  years.  He  adopt- 
ed the  dress  and  the  luxurious  manners  of  the 
Persians.  He  lived  in  the  palaces  of  the  Per- 
sian kings,  imitating  all  their  state  and  splen- 
dor. He  became  very  fond  of  convivial  enter- 
tainments and  of  wine,  and  often  drank  to  ex- 
cess. He  provided  himself  a  seraglio  of  three 
hundred  and  sixty  young  females,  in  whose  com- 
pany he  spent  his  time,  giving  himself  up  to  ev- 
ery form  of  effeminacy  and  dissipation.     In  a 


B.C.  329.]  Change  of  Character.   235 


Alexander  becomes  dissipated.  His  officers  become  estranged. 


word,  he  was  no  longer  the  same  man.  The  de- 
cision, the  energy  of  character,  the  steady  pur- 
suit of  great  ends  by  prudence,  forethought, 
patient  effort,  and  self-denial,  all  disappeared; 
nothing  now  seemed  to  interest  him  but  ban- 
quets, carousals,  parties  of  pleasure,  and  whole 
days  and  nights  spent  in  dissipation  and  vice. 

This  state  of  things  was  a  great  cause  of  mor- 
tification and  chagrin  to  the  officers  of  his  army. 
Many  of  them  were  older  than  himself,  and  bet- 
ter able  to  resist  these  temptations  to  luxury, 
effeminacy,  and  vice.  They  therefore  remain- 
ed firm  in  their  original  simplicity  and  integrity, 
and  after  some  respectful  but  ineffectual  remon- 
strances, they  stood  aloof,  alienated  from  their 
commander  in  heart,  and  condemning  very 
strongly,  among  themselves,  his  wickedness  and 
folly. 

On  the  other  hand,  many  of  the  younger  of- 
ficers followed  Alexander's  example,  and  became 
as  vain,  as  irregular,  and  as  fond  of  vicious  in- 
dulgence as  he.  But  then,  though  they  joined 
him  in  his  pleasures,  there  was  no  strong  bond 
of  union  between  him  and  them.  The  tie  which 
binds  mere  companions  in  pleasure  together  is 
always  very  slight  and  frail.  Thus  Alexander 
graduallv  lost  the  confidence  and  affection  of  his 


236     Alexander  the  Great.   [B.C. -329. 

Character  of  Parmenio.  His  services  to  Alexander. 

old  friends,  and  gained  no  new  ones.  His  offi- 
cers either  disapproved  his  conduct,  and  were 
distant  and  cold,  or  else  joined  him  in  his  dissi- 
pation and  vice,  without  feeling  any  real  respect 
for  his  character,  or  being  bound  to  him  by  any 
principle  of  fidelity. 

Parmenio  and  his  son  Philotas  were,  respect- 
ively, striking  examples  of  these  two  kinds  of 
character.  Parmenio  was  an  old  general,  now 
considerably  advanced  in  life.  He  had  served, 
as  has  already  been  stated,  under  Philip,  Alex- 
ander's father,  and  had  acquired  great  experi- 
ence and  great  fame  before  Alexander  succeed- 
ed to  the  throne.  During  the  whole  of  Alexan- 
der's career  Parmenio  had  been  his  principal 
lieutenant  general,  and  he  had  always  placed 
his  greatest  reliance  upon  him  in  all  trying  emer- 
gencies. He  was  cool,  calm,  intrepid,  sagacious. 
He  held  Alexander  back  from  many  rash  enter- 
prises, and  was  the  efficient  means  of  his  ac- 
complishing most  of  his  plans.  It  is  the  custom 
among  all  nations  to  give  kings  the  glory  of  all 
that  is  effected  by  their  generals  and  officers ; 
and  the  writers  of  those  days  would,  of  course, 
in  narrating  the  exploits  of  the  Macedonian 
army,  exaggerate  the  share  which  Alexander 
had  in  their  performances,  and  underrate  those 


B.C.  329.]  Change   of   Character.       237 

Parmenio's  son,  Philotas.  His  dissolute  character. 

of  Parmenio.  But  in  modern  times,  many  im- 
partial readers,  in  reviewing  calmly  these  events, 
think  that  there  is  reason  to  doubt  whether  Al- 
exander, if  he  had  set  out  on  his  great  expedi- 
tion without  Parmenio,  would  have  succeeded 
at  all. 

Philotas  was  the  son  of  Parmenio,  but  he 
was  of  a  very  different  character.  The  differ- 
ence was  one  which  is  very  often,  in  all  ages  of 
the  world,  to  be  observed  between  those  who 
inherit  greatness  and  those  who  acquire  it  for 
themselves.  We  see  the  same  analogy  reign- 
ing at  the  present  day,  when  the  sons  of  the 
wealthy,  who  are  born  to  fortune,  substitute 
pride,  and  arrogance,  and  vicious  self-indulgence 
and  waste  for  the  modesty,  and  prudence,  and 
virtue  of  their  siresfby  means  of  which  the  for- 
tune was  acquired.  Philotas  was  proud,  boast- 
ful, extravagant,  and  addicted,  like  Alexander 
his  master,  to  every  species  of  indulgence  and 
dissipation.  He  was  universally  hated.  His 
father,  out  of  patience  with  his  haughty  airs, 
his  boastings,  and  his  pomp  and  parade,  advised 
him,  one  day,  to  "make  himself  less."  But 
Parmenio's  prudent  advice  to  his  son  was  thrown 
away.  Philotas  spoke  of  himself  as  Alexander's 
great  reliance.    "  What  would  Philip  have  been 


238    Alexander    the   Great.  [B.C.  329. 

Conspiracies.  Plot  of  Dyirmus. 

or  have  done,"  said  he,  "  without  my  father  Par- 
menio  ?  and  what  would  Alexander  have  been, 
or  have  done,  without  me  V  These  things  were 
reported  to  Alexander,  and  thus  the  mind  of 
each  was  filled  with  suspicion,  fear,  and  hatred 
toward  the  other. 

Courts  and  camps  are  always  the  scenes  of 
conspiracy  and  treason,  and  Alexander  was  con- 
tinually hearing  of  conspiracies  and  plots  form- 
ed against  him.  The  strong  sentiment  of  love 
and  devotion  with  which  he  inspired  all  around 
him  at  the  commencement  of  his  career,  was 
now  gone,  and  his  generals  and  officers  were 
continually  planning  schemes  to  depose  him 
from  the  power  which  he  seemed  no  longer  to 
have  the  energy  to  wield ;  or,  at  least,  Alexan- 
der was  continually  suspecting  that  such  plans 
were  formed,  and  he  was  kept  in  a  continual 
state  of  uneasiness  and  anxiety  in  discovering 
and  punishing  them. 

At  last  a  conspiracy  occurred  in  which  Phi- 
lotas  was  implicated.  Alexander  was  informed 
one  day  that  a  plot  had  been  formed  to  depose 
and  destroy  him ;  that  Philotas  had  been  made 
accmainted  with  it  by  a  friend  of  Alexander's, 
in  order  that  he  might  make  it  known  to  the 
king ;  that  he  had  neglected  to  do  so,  thus  mak- 


B.C.  329.]  Change   of   Character.      239 

Dyirmus  destroys  himself.  Thilotas  suspected. 

ing  it  probable  that  he  was  himself  in  league 
with  the  conspirators.  Alexander  was  informed 
that  the  leader  and  originator  of  this  conspiracy 
was  one  of  his  generals  named  Dymnus. 

He  immediately  sent  an  officer  to  Dymnus  to 
summon  him  into  his  presence.  Dymnus  ap- 
peared to  be  struck  with  consternation  at  this 
summons.  Instead  of  obeying  it,  he  drew  his 
sword,  thrust  it  into  his  own  heart,  and  fell 
dead  upon  the  ground. 

Alexander  then  sent  for  Philotas,  and  asked 
him  if  it  was  indeed  true  that  he  had  been  in- 
formed of  this  conspiracy,  and  had  neglected  to 
make  it  known. 

Philotas  replied  that  he  had  been  told  that 
such  a  plot  was  formed,  but  that  he  did  not  be- 
lieve it ;  that  such  stories  were  continually  in- 
vented by  the  malice  of  evil-disposed  men,  and 
that  he  had  not  considered  the  report  which 
came  to  his  ears  as  worthy  of  any  attention. 
He  was,  however,  now  convinced,  by  the  terror 
which  Dymnus  had  manifested,  and  by  his  sui- 
cide, that  all  was  true,  and  he  asked  Alexan- 
der's pardon  for  not  having  taken  immediate 
measures  for  communicating  promptly  the  in- 
formation he  had  received. 

Alexander  gave  him  his  hand,  said  that  he  was 


240      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  329. 

The  council  of  officers.  Philotas  accused. 

convinced  that  he  was  innocent,  and  had  acted 
as  he  did  from  disbelief  in  the  existence  of  the 
conspiracy,  and  not  from  any  guilty  participa- 
tion in  it.     So  Philotas  went  away  to  his  tent. 

Alexander,  however,  did  not  drop  the  subject 
here.  He  called  a  council  of  his  ablest  and  best 
friends  and  advisers,  consisting  of  the  principal 
officers  of  his  army,  and  laid  the  facts  before 
them.  They  came  to  a  different  conclusion  from 
his  in  respect  to  the  guilt  of  Philotas.  They 
believed  him  implicated  in  the  crime,  and  de- 
manded his  trial.  Trial  in  such  a  case,  in  those 
days,  meant  putting  the  accused  to  the  torture, 
with  a  view  of  forcing  him  to  confess  his  guilt. 

Alexander  yielded  to  this  proposal.  Perhaps 
he  had  secretly  instigated  it.  The  advisers  of 
kings  and  conquerors,  in  such  circumstances  as 
this,  generally  have  the  sagacity  to  discover 
what  advice  will  be  agreeable.  At  all  events, 
Alexander  followed  the  advice  of  his  counselors, 
and  made  arrangements  for  arresting  Philotas 
on  that  very  evening. 

These  circumstances  occurred  at  a  time  when 
the  army  was  preparing  for  a  march,  the  vari- 
ous generals  lodging  in  tents  pitched  for  the  pur- 
pose. Alexander  placed  extra  guards  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  encampment,  as  if  to  impress 


B.C. 329.]  Change   of   Character.       241 


Arrest  of  Philotas.  The  body  of  Dymnus 

the  whole  army  with  a  sense  of  the  importance 
and  solemnity  of  the  occasion.  He  then  sent 
officers  to  the  tent  of  Philotas,  late  at  night,  to 
arrest  him.  The  officers  found  their  unhappy 
victim  asleep.  They  awoke  him,  and  made 
known  their  errand.  Philotas  arose,  and  obeyed 
the  summons,  dejected  and  distressed,  aware, 
apparently,  that  his  destruction  was  impending. 

The  next  morning  Alexander  called  together 
a  large  assembly,  consisting  of  the  principal  and 
most  important  portions  of  the  army,  to  the  num- 
ber of  several  thousands.  They  came  together 
with  an  air  of  impressive  solemnity,  expecting, 
from  the  preliminary  preparations,  that  business 
of  very  solemn  moment  was  to  come  before  them, 
though  they  knew  not- what  it  was. 

These  impressions  of  awe  and  solemnity  were 
very  much  increased  by  the  spectacle  which  first 
met  the  eyes  of  the  assembly  after  they  were 
convened.  This  spectacle  was  that  of  the  dead 
body  of  Dymnus,  bloody  and  ghastly,  which  Al- 
exander ordered  to  be  brought  in  and  exposed 
to  view.  The  death  of  Dymnus  had  been  kept 
a  secret,  so  that  the  appearance  of  his  body  was 
an  unexpected  as  well  as  a  shocking  sight. 
When  the  first  feeling  of  surprise  and  wonder 
had  a  little  subsided,  Alexander  explained  to  the 

Q 


242     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  329. 

Alexander's  address  to  the  army.  Philotas  brought  to  trial. 

assembly  the  nature  of  the  conspiracy,  and  the 
circumstances  connected  with  the  self-execution 
of  one  of  the  guilty  participators  in  it.  The 
spectacle  of  the  body,  and  the  statement  of  the 
king,  produced  a  scene  of  great  and  universal 
excitement  in  the  assembly,  and  this  excitement 
was  raised  to  the  highest  pitch  by  the  announce- 
ment which  Alexander  now  made,  that  he  had 
reason  to  believe  that  Philotas  and  his  father 
Parmenio,  officers  who  had  enjoyed  his  highest 
favor,  and  in  whom  he  had  placed  the  most  un- 
bounded confidence,  were  the  authors  and  orig- 
inators of  the  whole  design. 

He  then  ordered  Philotas  to  be  brought  in. 
He  came  guarded  as  a  criminal,  with  his  hands 
tied  behind  him,  and  his  head  covered  with  a 
coarse  cloth.  He  was  in  a  state  of  great  dejec- 
tion and  despondency.  It  is  true  that  he  was 
brought  forward  for  trial,  but  he  knew  very  well 
that  trial  meant  torture,  and  that  there  was  no 
hope  for  him  as  to  the  result.  Alexander  said 
that  he  would  leave  the  accused  to  be  dealt  with 
by  the  assembly,  and  withdrew. 

The  authorities  of  the  army,  who  now  had 
the  proud  and  domineering  spirit  which  had  so 
long  excited  their  hatred  and  envy  completely 
in  their  power,  listened  for  a  time  to  what  Phi- 


B.C.  329.]  Change    of   Character.       243 

Defeuse  of  Philotas.  He  is  put  to  the  torture 

lotas  had  to  say  in  his  own  justification.  He 
showed  that  there  was  no  evidence  whatever 
against  him,  and  appealed  to  their  sense  of  jus- 
tice not  to  condemn  him  on  mere  vague  surmi- 
ses. In  reply,  they  decided  to  put  him  to  the 
torture.  There  was  no  evidence,  it  was  true, 
and  they  wished,  accordingly,  to  supply  its  place 
by  his  own  confession,  extorted  by  pain.  Of 
course,  his  most  inveterate  and  implacable  ene- 
mies were  appointed  to  conduct  the  operation. 
They  put  Philotas  upon  the  rack.  The  rack  is 
an  instrument  of  wheels  and  pulleys,  into  which 
the  victim  is  placed,  and  his  limbs  and  tendons 
are  stretched  by  it  in  a  manner  which  produces 
most  excruciating  pain. 

Philotas  bore  the  beginning  of  his  torture  with 
great  resolution  and  fortitude.  He  made  no 
complaint,  he  uttered  no  cry :  this  was  the  sig- 
nal to  his  executioners  to  increase  the  tension 
and  the  agony.  Of  course,  in  such  a  trial  as 
this,  there  was  no  question  of  guilt  or  innocence 
at  issue.  The  only  question  was,  which  could 
stand  out  the  longest,  his  enemies  in  witness- 
ing horrible  sufferings,  or  he  himself  in  endur- 
ing them.  In  this  contest  the  unhappy  Philo- 
tas was  vanquished  at  last.  He  begged  them 
to  release  him  from  the  rack,  saying  he  would 


244     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  329. 


Confession  of  Philotas.  He  is  stoned  to  death. 

confess  whatever  they  required,  on  condition  of 
being  allowed  to  die  in  peace. 

They  accordingly  released  him,  and,  in  an- 
swer to  their  questions,  he  confessed  that  he  him- 
self and  his  father  were  involved  in  the  plot.  He 
said  yes  to  various  other  inquiries  relating  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  conspiracy,  and  to  the  guilt 
of  various  individuals  whom  those  that  managed 
the  torture  had  suspected,  or  who,  at  any  rate, 
they  wished  to  have  condemned.  The  answers 
of  Philotas  to  all  these  questions  were  written 
down,  and  he  was  himself  sentenced  to  be  stoned. 
The  sentence  was  put  in  execution  without  any 
delay. 

During  all  this  time  Parmenio  was  in  Media, 
in  command  of  a  very  important  part  of  Alex- 
ander's army.  It  was  decreed  that  he  must 
die ;  but  some  careful  management  was  neces- 
sary to  secure  his  execution  while  he  was  at  so 
great  a  distance,  and  at  the  head  of  so  great  a 
force.  The  affair  had  to  be  conducted  with  great 
secrecy  as  well  as  dispatch.  The  plan  adopted 
was  as  follows : 

There  was  a  certain  man,  named  Polydamas, 
who  was  regarded  as  Parmenio's  particular 
friend.  Polydamas  was  commissioned  to  go  to 
Media  and  see  the  execution  performed.     He 


B.C.  329.]  Change   of   Character.      245 

Parmcnio  condemned  to  death.  Mission  of  Polydamas. 

was  selected,  because  it  was  supposed  that  if 
any  enemy,  or  a  stranger,  had  been  sent,  Par- 
menio  would  have  received  him  with  suspicion, 
or  at  least  with  caution,  and  kept  himself  on 
his  guard.  They  gave  Polydamas  several  let- 
ters to  Parmenio,  as  if  from  his  friends,  and  to 
one  of  them  they  attached  the  seal  of  his  son 
Philotas,  the  more  completely  to  deceive  the 
unhappy  father.  Polydamas  was  eleven  days 
on  his  journey  into  Media.  He  had  letters  to 
Cleander,  the  governor  of  the  province  of  Media, 
which  contained  the  king's  warrant  for  Parme- 
nio's  execution.  He  arrived  at  the  house  of 
Cleander  in  the  night.  He  delivered  his  letters, 
and  they  together  concerted  the  plans  for  carry- 
ing the  execution  into- effect. 

After  having  taken  all  the  precautions  neces- 
sary, Polydamas  went,  with  many  attendants 
accompanying  him,  to  the  quarters  of  Parme- 
nio. The  old  general,  for  he  was  at  this  time 
eighty  years  of  age,  was  walking  in  his  grounds. 
Polydamas  being  admitted,  ran  up  to  accost 
him,  with  great  appearance  of  cordiality  and 
friendship.  He  delivered  to  him  his  letters,  and 
Parmenio  read  them.  He  seemed  much  pleas- 
ed with  their  contents,  especially  with  the  one 
which  had  been  written  in  the  name  of  his  son. 


246    Alexander  the   Great.   [B.C.  329. 

Precautions.  Brutal  murder  of  Parmenio. 

He  had  no  means  of  detecting  the  imposture, 
for  it  was  very  customary  in  those  days  for  let- 
ters to  be  written  by  secretaries,  and  to  be  au- 
thenticated solely  by  the  seal. 

Parmenio  was  much  pleased  to  get  good  tid- 
ings from  Alexander,  and  from  his  son,  and  be- 
gan conversing  upon  the  contents  of  the  letters, 
when  Polydamas,  watching  his  opportunity, 
drew  forth  a  dagger  which  he  had  concealed 
upon  his  person,  and  plunged  it  into  Parmenio's 
side.  He  drew  it  forth  immediately  and  struck 
it  at  his  throat.  The  attendants  rushed  on  at 
this  signal,  and  thrust  their  swords  again  and 
again  into  the  fallen  body  until  it  ceased  to 
breathe. 

The  death  of  Parmenio  and  of  his  son  in  this 
violent  manner,  when,  too,  there  was  so  little 
evidence  of  their  guilt,  made  a  very  general  and 
a  very  unfavorable  impression  in  respect  to  Al- 
exander ;  and  not  long  afterward  another  case 
occurred,  in  some  respects  still  more  painful,  as 
it  evinced  still  more  strikingly  that  the  mind  of 
Alexander,  which  had  been  in  his  earlier  days 
filled  with  such  noble  and  lofty  sentiments  of 
justice  and  generosity,  was  gradually  getting  to 
be  under  the  supreme  dominion  of  selfish  and  un- 
governable passions :  it  was  the  case  of  Clitus. 


B.C.329.]  Change   of   Character.       247 

Story  of  Clitus.  He  saves  Alexander's  life. 

Clitus  was  a  very  celebrated  general  of  Alex- 
ander's army,  and  a  great  favorite  with  the 
king.  He  had,  in  fact,  on  one  occasion  saved 
Alexander's  life.  It  was  at  the  battle  of  the 
Granicus.  Alexander  had  exposed  himself  in 
the  thickest  of  the  combat,  and  was  surrounded 
by  enemies.  The  sword  of  one  of  them  was  act- 
ually raised  over  his  head,  and  would  have  fallen 
and  killed  him  on  the  spot,  if  Clitus  had  not  rush- 
ed forward  and  cut  the  man  down  just  at  the 
instant  when  he  was  about  striking  the  blow. 
Such  acts  of  fidelity  and  courage  as  this  had 
given  Alexander  great  confidence  in  Clitus.  It 
happened,  shortly  after  the  death  of  Parmenio, 
that  the  governor  of  one  of  the  most  important 
provinces  of  the  empire  resigned  his  post.  Al- 
exander appointed  Clitus  to  fill  the  vacancy. 

The  evening  before  his  departure  to  take 
charge  of  his  government,  Alexander  invited 
him  to  a  banquet,  made,  partly  at  least,  in  hon- 
or of  his  elevation.  Clitus  and  the  other  guests 
assembled.  They  drank  wine,  as  usual,  with 
great  freedom.  Alexander  became  excited,  and 
began  to  speak,  as  he  was  now  often  accustomed 
to  do,  boastingly  of  his  own  exploits,  and  to  dis- 
parage those  of  his  father  Philip  in  comparison. 

Men  half  intoxicated  are  very  prone  to  quar- 


248     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  329. 

Services  of  Clitus.  Occurrences  at  the  banquet. 

rel,  and  not  the  less  so  for  being  excellent  friends 
when  sober.  Clitus  had  served  under  Philip. 
He  was  now  an  old  man,  and,  like  other  old  men, 
was  very  tenacious  of  the  glory  that  belonged  to 
the  exploits  of  his  youth.  He  was  very  restless 
and  uneasy  at  hearing  Alexander  claim  for  him- 
self the  merit  of  his  father  Philip's  victory  at 
Chseronea,  and  began  to  murmur  something  to 
those  who  sat  next  to  him  about  kings  claiming 
and  getting  a  great  deal  of  glory  which  did  not 
belong  to  them. 

Alexander  asked  what  it  was  that  Clitus  said. 
No  one  replied.  Clitus,  however,  went  on  talk- 
ing, speaking  more  and  more  audibly  as  he  be- 
came gradually  more  and  more  excited.  He 
praised  the  character  of  Philip,  and  applauded 
his  military  exploits,  saying  that  they  were  far 
superior  to  any  of  the  enterprises  of  their  day. 
The  different  parties  at  the  table  took  up  the 
subject,  and  began  to  dispute,  the  old  men  tak- 
ing the  part  of  Philip  and  former  days,  and  the 
younger  defending  Alexander.  Clitus  became 
more  and  more  excited.  He  praised  Parmenio, 
who  had  been  Philip's  greatest  general,  and  be- 
gan to  impugn  the  justice  of  his  late  condemna- 
tion and  death. 

Alexander  retorted,  and  Clitus,  rising  from 


B.C.  329.]  Change   of   Character.      249 

Clitus  reproaches  Alexander.  Alexander's  rage. 

his  seat,  and  losing  now  all  self-command,  re- 
proached him  with  severe  and  bitter  words. 
"  Here  is  the  hand,"  said  he,  extending  his  arm, 
"  that  saved  your  life  at  the  battle  of  the  Gran- 
icus,  and  the  fate  of  Parmenio  shows  what  sort 
of  gratitude  and  what  rewards  faithful  servants 
are  to  expect  at  your  hands."  Alexander,  burn- 
ing with  rage,  commanded  Clitus  to  leave  the 
table.  Clitus  obeyed,  saying,  as  he  moved  away, 
"  He  is  right  not  to  bear  freeborn  men  at  his  ta- 
ble who  can  only  tell  him  the  truth.  He  is  right. 
It  is  fitting  for  him  to  pass  his  life  among  bar- 
barians and  slaves,  who  will  be  proud  to  pay 
their  adoration  to  his  Persian  girdle  and  his 
splendid  robe." 

Alexander  seized  a  Javelin  to  hurl  at  Clitus's 
head.  The  guests  rose  in  confusion,  and  with 
many  outcries  pressed  around  him.  Some  seized 
Alexander's  arm,  some  began  to  hurry  Clitus 
out  of  the  room,  and  some  were  engaged  in 
loudly  criminating  and  threatening  each  other. 
They  got  Clitus  out  of  the  apartment,  but  as 
soon  as  he  was  in  the  hall  he  broke  away  from 
them,  returned  by  another  door,  and  began  to  re- 
new his  insults  to  Alexander.  The  king  hurled 
his  javelin  and  struck  Clitus  down,  saying,  at 
the  same  time,  "  Go,  then,  and  join  Philip  and 


250     Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  329. 


Alexander  assassinates  Clitus. 


Parmenio."  The  company  rushed  to  the  res- 
cue of  the  unhappy  man,  but  it  was  too  late. 
He  died  almost  immediately. 

Alexander,  as  soon  as  he  came  to  himself, 
was  overwhelmed  with  remorse  and  despair. 
He  mourned  bitterly,  for  many  days,  the  death 
of  his  long-tried  and  faithful  friend,  and  execra- 
ted the  intoxication  and  passion,  on  his  part, 
which  had  caused  it.  He  could  not,  however, 
restore  Clitus  to  life,  nor  remove  from  his  own 
character  the  indelible  stains  which  such  deeds 
necessarily  fixed  upon  it. 


B.C.  326.]     Alexander's   End.  251 

Alexander's  invasion  of  India.  Insubordination  of  the  army. 


Chapter  XII. 

Alexander's    End. 

AFTER  the  events  narrated  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, Alexander  continued,  for  two  or  three 
years,  his  expeditions  and  conquests  in  Asia, 
and  in  the  course  of  them  he  met  with  a  great 
variety  of  adventures  which  can  not  be  here  par- 
ticularly described.  He  penetrated  into  India 
as  far  as  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  and,  not  con- 
tent with  this,  was  preparing  to  cross  the  Indus 
and  go  on  to  the  Ganges.  His  soldiers,  how- 
ever, resisted  this  design.  They  were  alarmed 
at  the  stories  which,  they  heard  of  the  Indian 
armies,  with  elephants  bearing  castles  upon 
their  backs,  and  soldiers  armed  with  strange 
and  unheard-of  weapons.  These  rumors,  and 
the  natural  desire  of  the  soldiers  not  to  go  away 
any  further  from  their  native  land,  produced  al- 
most a  mutiny  in  the  army.  At  length,  Alex- 
ander, learning  how  strong  and  how  extensive 
the  spirit  of  insubordination  was  becoming,  sum- 
moned his  officers  to  his  own  tent,  and  then 
ordering  the  whole  army  to  gather  around,  he 
went  out  to  meet  them. 


252    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C. 326. 

Alexander's  address  to  the  army.  Address  made  to  him 

He  made  an  address  to  them,  in  which  he  re- 
counted all  their  past  exploits,  praised  the  cour- 
age and  perseverance  which  they  had  shown 
thus  far,  and  endeavored  to  animate  them  with 
a  desire  to  proceed.  They  listened  in  silence, 
and  no  one  attempted  to  reply.  This  solemn 
pause  was  followed  by  marks  of  great  agitation 
throughout  the  assembly.  The  army  loved 
their  commander,  notwithstanding  his  faults 
and  failings.  They  were  extremely  unwilling 
to  make  any  resistance  to  his  authority ;  but 
they  had  lost  that  extreme  and  unbounded  con- 
fidence in  his  energy  and  virtue  which  made 
them  ready,  in  the  former  part  of  his  career,  to 
press  forward  into  any  difficulties  and  dangers 
whatever,  where  he  led  the  way. 

At  last  one  of  the  army  approached  the  king, 
and  addressed  him  somewhat  as  follows  : 

"We  are  not  changed,  sir,  in  our  affection 
for  you.  We  still  have,  and  shall  always  re- 
tain, the  same  zeal  and  the  same  fidelity.  We 
are  ready  to  follow  you  at  the  hazard  of  our 
lives,  and  to  march  wherever  you  may  lead  us. 
Still  we  must  ask  you,  most  respectfully,  to 
consider  the  circumstances  in  which  we  are 
placed.  We  have  done  all  for  you  that  it  was 
possible  for  man  to  do.     We  have  crossed  seas 


B.C.325.J     Alexander's   End.  253 

The  army  refuses  to  go  further. Alexander's  disappointment. 

and  land.  We  have  marched  to  the  end  of  the 
world,  and  you  are  now  meditating  the  conquest 
of  another,  by  going  in  search  of  new  Indias, 
unknown  to  the  Indians  themselves.  Such  a 
thought  may  be  worthy  of  your  courage  and  res- 
olution, but  it  surpasses  ours,  and  our  strength 
still  more.  Look  at  these  ghastly  faces,  and 
these  bodies  covered  with  wounds  and  scars. 
Remember  how  numerous  we  were  when  first 
we  set  out  with  you,  and  see  how  few  of  us  re- 
main. The  few  who  have  escaped  so  many 
toils  and  dangers  have  neither  courage  nor 
strength  to  follow  you  any  further.  They  all 
long  to  revisit  their  country  and  their  homes, 
and  to  enjoy,  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives, 
the  fruits  of  all  their  toils.  Forgive  them  these 
desires,  so  natural  to  man." 

The  expression  of  these  sentiments  confirmed 
and  strengthened  them  in  the  minds  of  all  the 
soldiers.  Alexander  was  greatly  troubled  and 
distressed.  A  disaffection  in  a  small  part  of  an 
army  may  be  put  down  by  decisive  measures ; 
but  when  the  determination  to  resist  is  univer- 
sal, it  is  useless  for  any  commander,  however 
imperious  and  absolute  in  temper,  to  attempt 
to  withstand  it.  Alexander,  however,  was  ex- 
tremely unwilling  to  yield.     He  remained  two 


254     Alexander   the   Great.    [B.C.  325. 

Alexander  resolves  to  return.  He  is  wounded  in  an  assault. 

days  shut  up  in  his  tent,  the  prey  to  disappoint- 
ment and  chagrin. 

The  result,  however,  was,  that  he  abandoned 
plans  of  further  conquest,  and  turned  his  steps 
again  toward  the  west.  He  met  with  various 
adventures  as  he  went  on,  and  incurred  many 
dangers,  often  in  a  rash  and  foolish  manner,  and 
for  no  good  end.  At  one  time,  while  attacking 
a  small  town,  he  seized  a  scaling  ladder  and 
mounted  with  the  troops.  In  doing  this,  how- 
ever, he  put  himself  forward  so  rashly  and  in- 
considerately that  his  ladder  was  broken,  and 
while  the  rest  retreated  he  was  left  alone  upon 
the  wall,  whence  he  descended  into  the  town, 
and  was  immediately  surrounded  by  enemies. 
His  friends  raised  their  ladders  again,  and  press- 
ed on  desperately  to  find  and  rescue  him.  Some 
gathered  around  him  and  defended  him,  while 
others  contrived  to  open  a  small  gate,  by  which 
the  rest  of  the  army  gained  admission.  By  this 
means  Alexander  was  saved ;  though,  when  they 
brought  him  out  of  the  city,  there  was  an  arrow 
three  feet  long,  which  could  not  be  extracted, 
sticking  into  his  side  through  his  coat  of  mail. 

The  surgeons  first  very  carefully  cut  off  the 
wooden  shaft  of  the  arrow,  and  then,  enlarging 
the  wound  by  incisions,  they  drew  out  the  barbed 


B.C.324.]    Alexander's   End.  255 

Alexander's  excesses.  He  abandons  his  old  friends. 

point.  The  soldiers  were  indignant  that  Alex- 
ander should  expose  his  person  in  such  a  fool- 
hardy way,  only  to  endanger  himself,  and  to  com- 
pel them  to  rush  into  danger  to  rescue  him. 
The  wound  very  nearly  proved  fatal.  The  loss 
of  blood  was  attended  with  extreme  exhaustion  ; 
still,  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  he  recovered. 

Alexander's  habits  of  intoxication  and  vicious 
excess  of  all  kinds  were,  in  the  mean  time,  con- 
tinually increasing.  He  not  only  indulged  in 
such  excesses  himself,  but  he  encouraged  them 
in  others.  He  would  offer  prizes  at  his  ban- 
quets to  those  who  would  drink  the  most.  On 
one  of  these  occasions,  the  man  who  conquered 
drank,  it  is  said,  eighteen  or  twenty  pints  of 
wine,  after  which  he  fingered  in  misery  for  three 
days,  and  then  died ;  and  more  than  forty  oth- 
ers, present  at  the  same  entertainment,  died  in 
consequence  of  their  excesses. 

Alexander  returned  toward  Babylon.  His 
friend  Hephsestion  was  with  him,  sharing  with 
him  every  where  in  ail  the  vicious  indulgences 
to  which  he  had  become  so  prone.  Alexander 
gradually  separated  himself  more  and  more  from 
his  old  Macedonian  friends,  and  linked  himself 
more  and  more  closely  with  Persian  associates. 
He  married  Statira,  the  oldest  daughter  of  Da- 


256    Alexander    the    Great.  [B.C.  323. 

Entrance  into  Babylon.  Magnificent  spectacle. 

rius,  and  gave  the  youngest  daughter  to  He- 
phsestion.  He  encouraged  similar  marriages  be- 
tween Macedonian  officers  and  Persian  maidens, 
as  far  as  he  could.  In  a  word,  he  seemed  in- 
tent in  merging,  in  every  way,  his  original  char- 
acter and  habits  of  action  in  the  effeminacy,  lux- 
ury, and  vice  of  the  Eastern  world,  which  he  had 
at  first  so  looked  down  upon  and  despised. 

Alexander's  entrance  into  Babylon,  on  his  re- 
turn from  his  Indian  campaigns,  was  a  scene  of 
great  magnificence  and  splendor.  Embassadors 
and  princes  had  assembled  there  from  almost  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  to  receive  and  welcome 
him,  and  the  most  ample  preparations  were 
made  for  processions,  shows,  parades,  and  spec- 
tacles to  do  him  honor.  The  whole  country 
was  in  a  state  of  extreme  excitement,  and  the 
most  expensive  preparations  were  made  to  give 
him  a  reception  worthy  of  one  who  was  the  con- 
queror and  monarch  of  the  world,  and  the  son 
of  a  god. 

When  Alexander  approached  the  city,  how- 
ever, he  was  met  by  a  deputation  of  Chaldean 
astrologers.  The  astrologers  were  a  class  of 
philosophers  who  pretended,  in  those  days,  to 
foretell  human  events  by  means  of  the  motions 
of  the  stars.     The  motions  of  the  stars  were 


B.C.323.]    Alexander's   End.  ,    257 

The  astrologers.  Study  of  the  stars. 

studied  very  closely  in  early  times,  and  in  those 
Eastern  countries,  by  the  shepherds,  who  had 
often  to  remain  in  the  open  air,  through  the 
summer  nights,  to  watch  their  flocks.  These 
shepherds  observed  that  nearly  all  the  stars  were 
fixed  in  relation  to  each  other,  that  is,  although 
they  rose  successively  in  the  east,  and,  passing- 
over,  set  in  the  west,  they  did  not  change  in  re- 
lation to  each  other.  There  were,  however,  a 
few  that  wandered  about  among  the  rest  in 
an  irregular  and  unaccountable  manner.  They 
called  these  stars  the  wanderers — that  is,  in 
their  language,  the  planets — and  they  watched 
their  mysterious  movements  with  great  interest 
and  awe.  They  naturally  imagined  that  these 
changes  had  some  Connection  with  human  af- 
fairs, and  they  endeavored  to  prognosticate  from 
them  the  events,  whether  prosperous  or  adverse, 
which  were  to  befall  mankind.  Whenever  a 
comet  or  an  eclipse  appeared,  they  thought  it 
portended  some  terrible  calamity.  The  study 
of  the  motions  and  appearances  of  the  stars,  witli 
a  view  to  foretell  the  course  of  human  affairs, 
was  the  science  of  astrology. 

The  astrologers  came,  in  a  very  solemn  and 
imposing  procession,  to  meet  Alexander  on  his 
march.     They    informed   him    that  they    had 
R 


258    Alexander   the    Great.  [B.C.  323. 

Warning  of  the  astrologers.  Alexander's  perplexity. 

found  indubitable  evidence  in  the  stars  that,  if 
he  came  into  Babylon,  he  would  hazard  his  life. 
They  accordingly  begged  him  not  to  approach 
any  nearer,  but  to  choose  some  other  city  for 
his  capital.  Alexander  was  very  much  perplex- 
ed by  this  announcement.  His  mind,  weaken- 
ed by  effeminacy  and  dissipation,  was  very  sus- 
ceptible to  superstitious  fears.  It  was  not  mere- 
ly by  the  debilitating  influence  of  vicious  indul- 
gence on  the  nervous  constitution  that  this  effect 
was  produced.  It  was,  in  part,  the  moral  influ- 
ence of  conscious  guilt.  Guilt  makes  men 
afraid.  It  not  only  increases  the  power  of  real 
dangers,  but  predisposes  the  mind  to  all  sorts 
of  imaginary  fears. 

Alexander  was  very  much  troubled  at  this 
announcement  of  the  astrologers.  He  suspend- 
ed his  march,  and  began  anxiously  to  consider 
what  to  do.  At  length  the  Greek  philosophers 
came  to  him  and  reasoned  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject, persuading  him  that  the  science  of  astrol- 
ogy was  not  worthy  of  any  belief.  The  Greeks 
had  no  faith  in  astrology.  They  foretold  future 
events  by  the  flight  of  birds,  or  by  the  appear- 
ances presented  in  the  dissection  of  beasts  offer- 
ed in  sacrifice ! 

At  length,  however,  Alexander's  fears  were 


B.C.  323.]    Alexander's   End.  259 

Death  of  Hephaestion.  Alexander's  melancholy. 

so  far  allayed  that  he  concluded  to  enter  the 
city.  He  advanced,  accordingly,  with  his  whole 
army,  and  made  his  entry  under  circumstances 
of  the  greatest  possible  parade  and  splendor. 
As  soon,  however,  as  the  excitement  of  the  first 
few  days  had  passed  away,  his  mind  relapsed 
again,  and  he  became  anxious,  troubled,  and 
unhappy. 

Hephaestion,  his  great  personal  friend  and 
companion,  had  died  while  he  was  on  the  march 
toward  Babylon.  He  was  brought  to  the  grave 
by  diseases  produced  by  dissipation  and  vice. 
Alexander  was  very  much  moved  by  his  death. 
It  threw  him  at  once  into  a  fit  of  despondency 
and  gloom.  It  was  some  time  before  he  could 
at  all  overcome  the-melancholy  reflections  and 
forebodings  which  this  event  produced.  He  de- 
termined that,  as  soon  as  he  arrived  in  Babylon, 
he  would  do  all  possible  honor  to  Hepheestion's 
memory  by  a  magnificent  funeral. 

He  accordingly  now  sent  orders  to  all  the  cit- 
ies and  kingdoms  around,  and  collected  a  vast 
sum  for  this  purpose.  He  had  a  part  of  the 
city  wall  pulled  down  to  furnish  a  site  for  a  mon- 
umental edifice.  This  edifice  was  constructed 
of  an  enormous  size  and  most  elaborate  archi- 
tecture.   It  was  ornamented  with  Ions;  rows  of 


260     Alexander  the  Great.    [B.C.  323. 

Funeral  honors  to  Hephcestion.  A  stupendous  project 

prows  of  ships,  taken  by  Alexander  in  his  vic- 
tories, azid  by  statues,  and  columns,  and  sculp- 
tures, and  gilded  ornaments  of  every  kind. 
There  were  images  of  sirens  on  the  entabla- 
tures near  the  roof,  which,  by  means  of  a  mech- 
anism concealed  within,  were  made  to  sing  dirg- 
es and  mournful  songs.  The  expense  of  this 
edifice,  and  of  the  games,  shows,  and  spectacles 
connected  with  its  consecration,  is  said  by  the 
historians  of  the  day  to  have  been  a  sum  which, 
on  calculation,  is  found  equal  to  about  ten  mill- 
ions of  dollars. 

There  were,  however,  some  limits  still  to  Al- 
exander's extravagance  and  folly.  There  was 
a  mountain  in  Greece,  Mount  Athos,  which  a 
certain  projector  said  could  be  carved  and  fash- 
ioned into  the  form  of  a  man — probably  in  a  re- 
cumbent posture.  There  was  a  city  on  one  of 
the  declivities  of  the  mountain,  and  a  small  riv- 
er, issuing  from  springs  in  the  ground,  came 
down  on  the  other  side.  The  artist  who  con- 
ceived of  this  prodigious  piece  of  sculpture  said 
that  he  would  so  shape  the  figure  that  the  city 
should  be  in  one  of  its  hands,  and  the  river 
should  flow  out  from  the  other. 

Alexander  listened  to  this  proposal.  The 
name  Mount  Athos  recalled  to  his  mind  the 


l^--         -      ■;   T^rr] 


B.C.  323.]     Alexander's   End. 


263 


Alexander's  depression.  Magnificent  plans. 

attempt  of  Xerxes,  a  former  Persian  king,  who 
had  attempted  to  cut  a  road  through  the  rocks 
upon  a  part  of  Mount  Athos,  in  the  invasion  of 
Greece.  He  did  not  succeed,  but  left  the  un- 
finished work  a  lasting  memorial  both  of  the 
attempt  and  the  failure.  Alexander  concluded 
at  length  that  he  would  not  attempt  such  a 
sculpture.  "Mount  Athos,"  said  he,  "is  al- 
ready the  monument  of  one  king's  folly  ;  I  will 
not  make  it  that  of  another." 

As  soon  as  the  excitement  connected  with 
the  funeral  obsequies  of  Hephsestion  were  over, 
Alexander's  mind  relapsed  again  into  a  state  of 
gloomy  melancholy.  This  depression,  caused ,  as 
it  was,  by  previous  dissipation  and  vice,  seemed 
to  admit  of  no  remedy  or  relief  but  in  new  ex- 
cesses. The  traces,  however,  of  his  former  en- 
ergy so  far  remained  that  he  began  to  form  mag- 
nificent plans  for  the  improvement  of  Babylon. 
He  commenced  the  execution  of  some  of  these 
plans.  His  time  was  spent,  in  short,  in  strange 
alternations  :  resolution  and  energy  in  forming 
vast  plans  one  day,  and  utter  abandonment  to 
all  the  excesses  of  dissipation  and  vice  the  next. 
It  was  a  mournful  spectacle  to  see  his  former 
greatness  of  soul  still  struggling  on,  though 
more  and  more  faintly,  as  it  became  gradually 


2(34     Alexander   the   Great.   [B.C.  321. 

A  prolonged  carousal.  Alexander's  excesses. 

overborne  by  the  resistless  inroads  of  intemper- 
ance and  sin.  The  scene  was  at  length  sud- 
denly terminated  in  the  following  manner : 

On  one  occasion,  after  he  had  spent  a  whole 
night  in  drinking  and  carousing,  the  guests, 
when  the  usual  time  arrived  for  separating,  pro- 
posed that,  instead  of  this,  they  should  begin 
anew,  and  commence  a  second  banquet  at  the 
end  of  the  first.  Alexander,  half  intoxicated  al- 
ready, entered  warmly  into  this  proposal.  They 
assembled,  accordingly,  in  a  very  short  time. 
There  were  twenty  present  at  this  new  feast. 
Alexander,  to  show  how  far  he  was  from  having 
exhausted  his  powers  of  drinking,  began  to 
pledge  each  one  of  the  company  individually. 
Then  he  drank  to  them  all  together.  There 
was  a  very  large  cup,  called  the  bowl  of  Her- 
cules, which  he  now  called  for,  and,  after  hav- 
ing filled  it  to  the  brim,  he  drank  it  off  to  the 
health  of  one  of  the  company  present,  a  Mace- 
donian named  Proteas.  This  feat  being  receiv- 
ed by  the  company  with  great  applause,  he  or- 
dered the  great  bowl  to  be  filled  again,  and 
drank  it  off  as  before. 

The  work  was  now  done.  His  faculties  and 
his  strength  soon  failed  him,  and  he  sank  down 
to  the  floor.     They  bore  him  away  to  his  pal- 


B.C.  321.]     Alexander's   End.  265 

Alexander's  last  sickness.  His  dying  words. 

aoe.  A  violent  fever  intervened,  which  the  phy- 
sicians did  all  in  their  power  to  allay.  As  soon 
as  his  reason  returned  a  little,  Alexander  arous- 
ed himself  from  his  lethargy,  and  tried  to  per- 
suade himself  that  he  should  recover.  He  began 
to  issue  orders  in  regard  to  the  army,  and  to  his 
ships,  as  if  such  a  turning  of  his  mind  to  the 
thoughts  of  power  and  empire  would  help  bring 
him  back  from  the  brink  of  the  grave  toward 
which  he  had  been  so  obviously  tending.  He 
was  determined,  in  fact,  that  he  would  not  die. 

He  soon  found,  however,  notwithstanding  his 
efforts  to  be  vigorous  and  resolute,  that  his 
strength  was  fast  ebbing  away.  The  vital  pow- 
ers had  received  a  fatal  wound,  and  he  soon  felt 
that  they  could  sustain  themselves  but  little 
longer.  He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he 
must  die.  He  drew  his  signet  ring  oft'  from  his 
finger ;  it  was  a  token  that  he  felt  that  all  was 
over.  He  handed  the  ring  to  one  of  his  friends 
who  stood  by  his  bed-side.  "  When  I  am  gone," 
said  he,  "take  my  body  to  the  Temple  of  Ju- 
piter Amnion,  and  inter  it  there." 

The  generals  who  were  around  him  advanced 
to  his  bed-side,  and  one  after  another  kissed  his 
hand.  Their  old  affection  for  him  revived  as 
they  saw  him  about  to  take  leave  of  them  for- 


266    Alexander   the   (treat.    [B.C.  321. 

Alexander's  death.  Alexander  and  Washington. 

ever.  They  asked  him  to  whom  he  wished  to 
leave  his  empire.  "  To  the  most  worthy,"  said 
he.  He  meant,  doubtless,  by  this  evasion,  that 
he  was  too  weak  and  exhausted  to  think  of  such 
affairs.  He  knew,  probably,  that  it  was  use- 
less for  him  to  attempt  to  control  the  govern- 
ment of  his  empire  after  his  death.  He  said,  in 
fact,  that  he  foresaw  that  the  decision  of  such 
questions  would  give  rise  to  some  strange  fu- 
neral games  after  his  decease.  Soon  after  this 
he  died. 

The  palaces  of  Babylon  were  immediately 
filled  with  cries  of  mourning  at  the  death  of  the 
prince,  followed  by  bitter  and  interminable  dis- 
putes about  the  succession.  It  had  not  been 
the  aim  of  Alexander's  life  to  establish  firm  and 
well-settled  governments  in  the  countries  that 
he  conquered,  to  encourage  order,  and  peace, 
and  industry  among  men,  and  to  introduce  sys- 
tem and  regularity  in  human  affairs,  so  as  to 
leave  the  world  in  a  better  condition  than  he 
found  it.  In  this  respect  his  course  of  conduct 
presents  a  strong  contrast  with  that  of  Wash- 
ington. It  was  Washington's  aim  to  mature 
and  perfect  organizations  which  would  move  on 
prosperously  of  themselves,  without  him ;  and 
he  was  continually  withdrawing  his  hand  from 


B.C.321.]      Alexander's   End.  267 

Calamitous  results  which  followed  Alexander's  death. 

action  and  control  in  public  affairs,  taking  a 
higher  pleasure  in  the  independent  working  of 
the  institutions  which  he  had  formed  and  pro- 
tected, than  in  exercising,  himself,  a  high  person- 
al power.  Alexander,  on  the  other  hand,  was  all 
his  life  intent  solely  on  enlarging  and  strength- 
ening his  own  personal  power.  He  was  all  in 
all.  He  wished  to  make  himself  so.  He  never 
thought  of  the  welfare  of  the  countries  which  he 
had  subjected  to  his  sway,  or  did  any  thing  to 
guard  against  the  anarchy  and  civil  wars  which 
he  knew  full  well  would  break  out  at  once  over 
all  his  vast  dominions,  as  soon  as  his  power  came 
to  an  end. 

The  result  was  as  might  have  been  foreseen. 
The  whole  vast  field  of  his  conquests  became, 
for  many  long  and  weary  years  after  Alexan- 
der's death,  the  prey  to  the  most  ferocious  and 
protracted  civil  wars.  Each  general  and  gov- 
ernor seized  the  power  which  Alexander's  death 
left  in  his  hands,  and  endeavored  to  defend  him- 
self in  the  possession  of  it  against  the  others. 
Thus  the  devastation  and  misery  which  the 
making  of  these  conquests  brought  upon  Eu- 
rope and  Asia  were  continued  for  many  years, 
during  the  slow  and  terrible  process  of  their  re- 
turn to  their  original  condition. 


268     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  321. 

Stormy  debates.  Aridreus  appointed  king. 

In  the  exigency  of  the  moment,  however,  at 
Alexander's  death,  the  generals  who  were  in 
his  court  at  the  time  assembled  forthwith,  and 
made  an  attempt  to  appoint  some  one  to  take 
the  immediate  command.  They  spent  a  week 
in  stormy  debates  on  this  subject.  Alexander 
had  left  no  legitimate  heir,  and  he  had  declined, 
when  on  his  death-bed,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
to  appoint  a  successor.  Among  his  wives — if, 
indeed,  they  may  be  called  wives — there  was 
one  named  Roxana,  who  had  a  son  not  long 
after  his  death.  This  son  was  ultimately  nam- 
ed his  successor ;  but,  in  the  mean  time,  a  cer- 
tain relative  named  Aridseus  was  chosen  by  the 
generals  to  assume  the  command.  The  selec- 
tion of  Aridseus  was  a  sort  of  compromise.  He 
had  no  talents  or  capacity  whatever,  and  was 
chosen  by  the  rest  on  that  very  account,  each 
one  thinking  that  if  such  an  imbecile  as  Aridae- 
us  was  nominally  the  king,  he  could  himself 
manage  to  get  possession  of  the  real  power. 
Aridseus  accepted  the  appointment,  but  he  was 
never  able  to  make  himself  king  in  any  thing 
but  the  name. 

In  the  mean  time,  as  the  tidings  of  Alexan- 
der's death  spread  over  the  empire,  it  produced 
very  various  effects,  according  to  the  personal 


B.C.  321.]    Alexander's  End.  269 


Effects  of  the  news  of  Alexander's  death.  Sysigambis. 

feelings  in  respect  to  Alexander  entertained  by 
the  various  personages  and  powers  to  which  the 
intelligence  came.  Some,  who  had  admired  his 
greatness,  and  the  splendor  of  his  exploits,  with- 
out having  themselves  experienced  the  bitter 
fruits  of  them,  mourned  and  lamented  his  death. 
Others,  whose  fortunes  had  been  ruined,  and 
whose  friends  and  relatives  had  been  destroyed, 
in  the  course,  or  in  the  sequel  of  his  victories, 
rejoiced  that  he  who  had  been  such  a  scourge 
and  curse  to  others,  had  himself  sunk,  at  last, 
under  the  just  judgment  of  Heaven. 

We  should  have  expected  that  Sysigambis, 
the  bereaved  and  widowed  mother  of  Darius, 
would  have  been  among  those  who  would  have 
exulted  most  highly  Tit  the  conqueror's  death ; 
but  history  tells  us  that,  instead  of  this,  she 
mourned  over  it  with  a  protracted  and  incon- 
solable grief.  Alexander  had  been,  in  fact, 
though  the  implacable  enemy  of  her  son,  a  faith- 
ful and  generous  friend  to  her.  He  had  treated 
her,  at  all  times,  with  the  utmost  respect  and 
consideration,  had  supplied  all  her  wants,  and 
ministered,  in  every  way,  to  her  comfort  and 
happiness.  She  had  gradually  learned  to  think 
of  him  and  to  love  him  as  a  son ;  he,  in  fact, 
always  called  her  mother  ;  and  when  she  learn- 


270      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  321. 

Death  of  Sysigambis.  Rejoicings  at  Athens. 

ed  that  he  was  gone,  she  felt  as  if  her  last 
earthly  protector  was  gone.  Her  life  had  been 
one  continued  scene  of  affliction  and  sorrow,  and 
this  last  blow  brought  her  to  her  end.  She 
pined  away,  perpetually  restless  and  distressed. 
She  lost  all  desire  for  food,  and  refused,  like 
others  who  are  suffering  great  mental  anguish, 
to  take  the  sustenance  which  her  friends  and 
attendants  offered  and  urged  upon  her.  At 
length  she  died.  They  said  she  starved  herself 
to  death ;  but  it  was,  probably,  grief  and  de- 
spair at  being  thus  left,  in  her  declining  years, 
so  hopelessly  friendless  and  alone,  and  not  hun- 
ger, that  destroyed  her. 

In  striking  contrast  to  this  mournful  scene  of 
sorrow  in  the  palace  of  Sysigambis,  there  was 
an  exhibition  of  the  most  wild  and  tumultuous 
joy  in  the  streets,  and  in  all  the  public  places 
of  resort  in  the  city  of  Athens,  when  the  tidings 
of  the  death  of  the  great  Macedonian  king  ar- 
rived there.  The  Athenian  commonwealth,  as 
well  as  all  the  other  states  of  Southern  Greece, 
had  submitted  very  reluctantly  to  the  Macedo- 
nian supremacy.  They  had  resisted  Philip,  and 
they  had  resisted  Alexander.  Their  opposition 
had  been  at  last  suppressed  and  silenced  by  Al- 
exander's terrible  vengeance  upon  Thebes,  but 


B.C.321.J     Alexander's  End.  271 

Demosthenes.  Joy  of  the  Athenians.  Phocion. 

it  never  was  really  subdued.  Demosthenes,  the 
orator,  who  had  exerted  so  powerful  an  influ- 
ence against  the  Macedonian  kings,  had  been 
sent  into  banishment,  and  all  outward  expres- 
sions of  discontent  were  restrained.  The  dis- 
content and  hostility  existed  still,  however,  as 
inveterate  as  ever,  and  was  ready  to  break  out 
anew,  with  redoubled  violence,  the  moment  that 
the  terrible  energy  of  Alexander  himself  was  no 
longer  to  be  feared. 

When,  therefore,  the  rumor  arrived  at  Ath- 
ens— for  at  first  it  was  a  mere  rumor — that  Al- 
exander was  dead  in  Babylon,  the  whole  city 
was  thrown  into  a  state  of  the  most  tumultuous 
joy.  The  citizens  assembled  in  the  public  pla- 
ces, and  congratulated-and  harangued  each  oth- 
er with  expressions  of  the  greatest  exultation. 
They  were  for  proclaiming  their  independence 
and  declaring  war  against  Macedon  on  the  spot. 
Some  of  the  older  and  more  sagacious  of  their 
counselors  were,  however,  more  composed  and 
calm.  They  recommended  a  little  delay,  in  or- 
der to  see  whether  the  news  was  really  true. 
Phocion,  in  particular,  who  was  one  of  the  prom- 
inent statesmen  of  the  city,  endeavored  to  quiet 
the  excitement  of  the  people.  "  Do  not  let  us 
be  so  precipitate,"  said  he.     "There  is  time 


272      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  321. 

Measures  of  the  Athenians.  Triumphant  return  of  Demosthenes. 

enough.  If  Alexander  is  really  dead  to-day,  he 
will  be  dead  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day,  so 
that  there  will  be  time  enough  for  us  to  act  with 
deliberation  and  discretion." 

Just  and  true  as  this  view  of  the  subject  was, 
there  was  too  much  of  rebuke  and  satire  in  it 
to  have  much  influence  with  those  to  whom  it 
was  addressed.  The  people  were  resolved  on 
war.  They  sent  commissioners  into  all  the 
states  of  the  Peloponnesus  to  organize  a  league, 
offensive  and  defensive,  against  Macedon.  They 
recalled  Demosthenes  from  his  banishment,  and 
adopted  all  the  necessary  military  measures  for 
establishing  and  maintaining  their  freedom. 
The  consequences  of  all  this  would  doubtless 
have  been  very  serious,  if  the  rumor  of  Alexan- 
der's death  had  proved  false;  but,  fortunately 
for  Demosthenes  and  the  Athenians,  it  was  soon 
abundantly  confirmed. 

The  return  of  Demosthenes  to  the  city  was 
like  the  triumphal  entry  of  a  conqueror.  At 
the  time  of  his  recall  he  was  at  the  island  of 
uEgina,  which  is  about  forty  miles  southwest 
of  Athens,  in  one  of  the  gulfs  of  the  iEgean  Sea. 
They  sent  a  public  galley  to  receive  him,  and 
to  bring  him  to  the  land.  It  was  a  galley  of 
three  banks  of  oars,  and  was  fitted  up  in  a  style 


B.C.  321.]    Alexander's  End.  273 

Grand  reception  of  Demosthenes.  Preparations  for  the  funeral. 

to  do  honor  to  a  public  guest.  Athens  is  situ- 
ated some  distance  back  from  the  sea,  and  has 
a  small  port,  called  the  Piraeus,  at  the  shore — a 
long,  straight  avenue  leading  from  the  port  to 
the  city.  The  galley  by  which  Demosthenes 
was  conveyed  landed  at  the  Piraeus.  All  the 
civil  and  religious  authorities  of  the  city  went 
down  to  the  port,  in  a  grand  procession,  to  re- 
ceive and  welcome  the  exile  on  his  arrival,  and 
a  large  portion  of  the  population  followed  in  the 
train,  to  witness  the  spectacle,  and  to  swell  by 
their  acclamations  the  general  expression  of  joy. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  preparations  for  Alex- 
ander's funeral  had  been  going  on,  upon  a  great 
scale  of  magnificence  and  splendor.  It  was  two 
years  before  they  were  complete.  The  body 
had  been  given,  first,  to  be  embalmed,  accord- 
ing to  the  Egyptian  and  Chaldean  art,  and  then 
had  been  placed  in  a  sort  of  sarcophagus,  in 
which  it  was  to  be  conveyed  to  its  long  home. 
Alexander,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  given 
directions  that  it  should  be  taken  to  the  temple 
of  Jupiter  Ammon,  in  the  Egyptian  oasis,  where 
he  had  been  pronounced  the  son  of  a  god.  It 
would  seem  incredible  that  such  a  mind  as  his 
could  really  admit  such  an  absurd  superstition 
as  the  story  of  his  divine  origin,  and  we  must 
S 


274     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  319. 

Destination  of  Alexander's  body.  A  funeral  on  a  grand  scale. 

therefore  suppose  that  he  gave  this  direction  in 
order  that  the  place  of  his  interment  might  con- 
firm the  idea  of  his  superhuman  nature  in  the 
general  opinion  of  mankind.  At  all  events,  such 
were  his  orders,  and  the  authorities  who  were 
left  in  power  at  Babylon  after  his  death,  pre- 
pared to  execute  them. 

It  was  a  long  journey.  To  convey  a  body, 
by  a  regular  funeral  procession,  formed  as  soon 
after  the  death  as  the  arrangements  could  be 
made,  from  Babylon  to  the  eastern  frontiers  of 
Egypt,  a  distance  of  a  thousand  miles,  was 
perhaps  as  grand  a  plan  of  interment  as  was 
ever  formed.  It  has  something  like  a  parallel 
in  the  removal  of  Napoleon's  body  from  St.  Hel- 
ena to  Paris,  though  this  was  not  really  an  in- 
terment, but  a  transfer.  Alexander's  was  a 
simple  burial  procession,  going  from  the  palace 
where  he  died  to  the  proper  cemetery — a  march 
of  a  thousand  miles,  it  is  true,  but  all  within 
his  own  dominions.  The  greatness  of  it  result- 
ed simply  from  the  magnitude  of  the  scale  on 
which  every  thing  pertaining  to  the  mighty  here 
was  performed,  for  it  was  nothing  but  a  simple 
passage  from  the  dwelling  to  the  burial-ground, 
on  his  own  estates,  after  all. 

A  very  large  and  elaboratelv  constructed  car- 


B.C.  319.]     Alexander's  End.  275 

The  funeral  car.  Its  construction  and  magnitude. 

riage  was  built  to  convey  the  body.  The  ac- 
counts of  the  richness  and  splendor  of  this  ve- 
hicle are  almost  incredible.  The  spokes  and 
naves  of  the  wheels  were  overlaid  with  gold, 
and  the  extremities  of  the  axles,  where  they 
appeared  outside  at  the  centers  of  the  wheels, 
were  adorned  with  massive  golden  ornaments. 
The  wheels  and  axle-trees  were  so  large,  and 
so  far  apart,  that  there  was  supported  upon 
them  a  platform  or  floor  for  the  carriage  twelve 
feet  wide  and  eighteen  feet  long.  Upon  this 
platform  there  was  erected  a  magnificent  pavil- 
ion, supported  by  Ionic  columns,  and  profusely 
ornamented,  both  within  and  without,  with  pur- 
ple and  gold.  The  interior  constituted  an  apart- 
ment, more  or  less  open  at  the  sides,  and  vp- 
splendent  within  with  gems  and  precious  stones. 
The  space  of  twelve  feet  by  eighteen  forms  a 
chamber  of  no  inconsiderable  size,  and  there 
was  thus  ample  room  for  what  was  required 
within.  There  was  a  throne,  raised  some  steps, 
and  placed  back  upon  the  platform,  profusely 
carved  and  gilded.  It  was  empty ;  but  crowns, 
representing  the  various  nations  over  whom  Al- 
exander had  reigned,  were  hung  upon  it.  At 
the  foot  of  the  throne  was  the  coffin,  made,  it 
is  said,  of  solid  gold,  and  containing,  besides 


^?G     Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C.  319. 

Ornaments  and  basso  relievos.  Column-of  mules. 

the  body,  a  large  quantity  of  the  most  costly 
spices  and  aromatic  perfumes,  which  filled  the 
air  with  their  odor.  The  arms  which  Alexan- 
der wore  were  laid  out  in  view,  also,  between 
the  coffin  and  the  throne. 

On  the  four  sides  of  the  carriage  were  basso 
relievos,  that  is,  sculptured  figures  raised  from 
a  surface,  representing  Alexander  himself,  with 
various  military  concomitants.  There  were 
Macedonian  columns,  and  Persian  squadrons, 
and  elephants  of  India,  and  troops  of  horse,  and 
various  other  emblems  of  the  departed  hero's 
greatness  and  power.  Around  the  pavilion,  too, 
there  was  a  fringe  or  net- work  of  golden  lace, 
to  the  pendents  of  which  were  attached  bells, 
which  tolled  continually,  with  a  mournful  sound, 
as  the  carriage  moved  along.  A  long  column 
of  mules,  sixty-four  in  number,  arranged  in 
sets  of  four,  drew  this  ponderous  car.  These 
mules  were  all  selected  for  their  great  size 
and  strength,  and  were  splendidly  caparisoned. 
They  had  collars  and  harnesses  mounted  with 
gold,  and  enriched  with  precious  stones. 

Before  the  procession  set  out  from  Babylon, 
an  army  of  pioneers  and  workmen  went  for- 
ward to  repair  the  roads,  strengthen  the  bridg- 
es, and  remove  the  obstacles  along  the  whole 


B.C.  319.]    Alexander's  End.  277 

Crowds  of  spectators.  The  body  deposited  at  Alexandria. 

line  of  route  over  which  the  train  was  to  pass. 
At  length,  when  all  was  ready,  the  solemn  pro- 
cession began  to  move,  and  passed  out  through 
the  gates  of  Babylon.  No  pen  can  describe  the 
enormous  throngs  of  spectators  that  assembled 
to  witness  its  departure,  and  that  gathered 
along  the  route,  as  it  passed  slowly  on  from 
city  to  city,  in  its  long  and  weary  way. 

Notwithstanding  all  this  pomp  and  parade, 
however,  the  body  never  reached  its  intended 
destination.  Ptolemy,  the  officer  to  whom  Egypt 
fell  in  the  division  of  Alexander's  empire,  came 
forth  with  a  grand  escort  of  troops  to  meet  the 
funeral  procession  as  it  came  into  Egypt.  He 
preferred,  for  some  reason  or  other,  that  the 
body  should  be  interred  in  the  city  of  Alexan- 
dria. It  was  accordingly  deposited  there,  and 
a  great  monument  was  erected  over  the  spot. 
This  monument  is  said  to  have  remained  stand- 
ing for  fifteen  hundred  years,  but  all  vestiges  of 
it  have  now  disappeared.  The  city  of  Alexan- 
dria itself,  however,  is  the  conqueror's  real  mon- 
ument ;  the  greatest  and  best,  perhaps,  that  any 
conqueror  ever  left  behind  him.  It  is  a  monu- 
ment, too,  that  time  will  not  destroy ;  its  position 
and  character,  as  Alexander  foresaw,  by  bringing 
it  a  continued  renovation,  secure  its  perpetuity. 


278      Alexander  the  Great.  [B.C. 810. 

Alexander's  true  character.  Conclusion. 

Alexander  earned  well  the  name  and  reputa- 
tion of  the  Great.  He  was  truly  great  in  all 
those  powers  and  capacities  which  can  elevate 
one  man  above  his  fellows.  We  can  not  help 
applauding  the  extraordinary  energy  of  his  gen- 
ius, though  we  condemn  the  selfish  and  cruel 
ends  to  which  his  life  was  devoted.  He  was 
simply  a  robber,  but  yet  a  robber  on  so  vast  a 
scale,  that  mankind,  in  contemplating  his  ca- 
reer, have  generally  lost  sight  of  the  wickedness 
of  his  crimes  in  their  admiration  of  the  enor- 
mous magnitude  of  the  scale  on  which  they  were 
perpetrated. 


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Avery  witty  production  of  those  distinguished  comic  writers,  the  Broth- 
ers Mayhew,  two  of  the  most  celebrated  disciples  of  the  "  Punch  School." 
— Spirit  of  the  Times. 


(Buttering  Ijeigljta. 


By  A.  Bell.     12mo,  Muslin,  75  cents  ;  Paper,  50  cents. 

We  strongly  recommend  all  our  readers  who  love  novelty  to  get  this 
story,  for  we  can  promise  them  that  they  never  read  any  thing  like  it  be 
fore. — Douglas  Jerrold. 


Popular  Literature  Published  by  Harper  <%■  Brothers.     3 

OMo  ficks  tl)e  ©uibe; 

Or,  Adventures  in  the  Camanche  Country  in  Search  of  a 
Gold  Mine.  By  C.  W,  Webber.  12mo,  Muslin,  Si  00  ; 
Paper,  75  cents. 

It  has  incidents  enough  for  a  score  of  novels. — Mirror. 
Here  is  a  book  to  stir  a  fever  in  the  blood  of  age.     Full  of  wild  adven- 
tures, and  running  over  with  life. — Graham's  Magazine. 

Qbventnxcs  in  Mexico  ana  tije  Bodtji 
Jitoimtaina. 

By  G.  Ruxton.     12mo,  Muslin,  75  cents  ;  Paper,  50  cents. 

Crowded  with  the  wildest  adventures,  it  has  that  reality  which  makes 
Melville's  "  South  Seas"  so  charming  and  fresh.  It  has  none  of  the 
homeliness  of  Robinson  Crusoe,  but  the  adventures  are  as  startling. — 
London  Economist. 


banit$  fair; 


Or,  Pen  and  Pencil  Sketches  of  English  Society.     By  W. 

M.    Thackeray.     With   Illustrations    by   the    Author. 

8vo,  Muslin,  $  1  25  ;  Paper,  $1  00. 

He  is  the  prince  of  etchers  and  sketchers.  His  genius  is  environed 
with  a  warm  and  glowing  atmosphere  of  fine  feeling  and  cultivated  fan- 
cies— light,  playful,  kindling,  acting  upon  the  imagination  and  heart  of 
the  reader  with  a  secret  but  irresistible  influence.  A  humor,  remarkable 
for  its  geniality,  illumes  and  vivifies  every  page. — Dickens's  Daily  News. 

Qlt)t  €!)ilbrcu  of  tlje  Neva  iForest. 

By  Captain  Marryat.  12mo,  Muslin,  50  cents  ;  Paper, 
37£  cents. 

The  author's  facility  of  description  has  here  brought  out  a  romance 
which  will  freshen  the  recollections  of  his  former  fame  in  the  mind  of 
the  public. — Springfield  Gazette. 

&t)e  Slorg  of  t\)c  Ikmnsular  tUar. 

By  General  Charles  W.  Vane,  Marquess  of  Londonder- 
ry. New  Edition,  revised,  with  considerable  Additions. 
12mo,  Muslin,  $1  00 ;  Paper,  75  cents. 

It  is  the  object  of  this  publication  to  present  what  has  long  been  a  de- 
sideratum— a  Complete  History  of  the  Peninsular  War  down  to  the  peace 
of  1814,  in  the  smallest  possible  compass,  and  at  so  moderate  a  cost  as 
to  be  accessible  to  all  classes  of  readers  ;  it  will  be  regarded  as  an  indis- 
pensable companion  to  The  Story  of  the  Battle  of  Waterloo. — Athenaum. 


4     Popular  Literature  Published  by  Harper  cf-  Brothers. 

Coiterinjjs  in  (Jhtroue; 

Or,  Sketches  of  Travel  in  France,  Belgium,  Switzerland 
Italy,  Austria,   Prussia,   Great   Britain,   and   Ireland 

.  With  an  Appendix,  containing  Observations  on  Euro 
pean  Charities  and  Medical  Institutions.  By  J.  W 
Corson,  M.D.     12mo,  Muslin,  $1  00  ;  Paper,  75  cents 

The  author  evidently  wrote  just  as  he  traveled,  with  a  perfect  over- 
flowing of  enthusiasm.  The  impressions  which  he  received,  and  which 
he  communicates  to  the  reader,  have  all  the  minute  fidelity  of  the  da- 
guerreotype as  to  form,  while  the  author's  imagination  imparts  to  them 
those  natural  hues  which  are  beyond  the  reach  of  that  art. — Journal  of 
Commerce. 

QL\)c  Battle  of  ftntna  bi&ta. 

With  the  Operations  of  the  "Army  of  Occupation"  for 
One  Month  By  Captain  Carleton.  12mo,  Muslin, 
75  cents;  Paper,  50  cents. 

The  best  description  that  h„s  yet  appeared  of  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished battles  fought  during  the  Mexican  campaign.  We  read  it  through 
from  title-page  to  Colaphon  with  unabated  interest.  Its  style  is  simple 
and  pure,  and  its  pictures  vivid  in  a  marked  degree. — Knickerbocker. 

Man  arib  I)is  ittotit>*s. 

By  G.  Moore,  M.D.     12mo,  Muslin.     50  cents. 

Dr.  Moore  is  one  of  the  very  best  writers  of  the  day.  He  is  both  a 
practical  and  a  philosophical  physician,  and  he  derives  much  advantage 
in  developing  the  spiritual  as  well  as  physical  nature  of  man,  from  the 
practice  of  his  own  profession.  This  is  the  third  of  his  works,  all  of  which 
have  been  placed  by  intelligent  readers  in  the  first  class  of  modern  liter- 
ature and  philosophy. — Cincinnati  Herald. 

Stye  tenant  of  toilbfell  fall. 

By  A.  Bell.     12mo,  Muslin,  75  cents  ;  Paper,  50  cents. 

It  is  by  all  odds  the  best  temperance  story  we  ever  read.  It  is  diffi- 
cult not  to  believe  in  the  reality  of  the  scene.  You  can  not  doubt  that 
it  is  an  actual  copy  of  life.  You  forget  you  are  reading  a  romance,  and 
put  just  as  much  trust  in  the  narration  as  if  it  were  told  of  your  next 
door  neighbors.  To  produce  this  effect  completely  is,  we  take  it,  the 
highest  success  of  a  novelist. — Mirror. 

Noro  ttttb  Stystt. 

A  Tale.  By  S.  Warren.  12mo,  Muslin,  75  cents  ;  Pa- 
per, 50  cents. 

Dr.  Warren's  skill  is  of  a  peculiar  kind  ;  it  is  earnest  and  emphatic. 
This  tale  excites  strong  interest. — Athenceum. 


Popular  Literature  Published  by  Harper  cf-  Brothers.     5 

QTlje  Sroies  iTatnilg  ftobinson; 

Or,  Adventures  of  a  Father  and  Mother  and  Four  Sons 
on  a  Desert  Island.  Being  a  Continuation  of  the  "Work 
published  some  years  since  under  this  Title.  2  vols. 
18mo,  Muslin.     75  cents. 

Every  one  will  remember  the  first  two  volumes  of  this  charming  story 
for  children,  and,  of  course,  be  desirous  to  see  the  conclusion.  The 
present  volumes  are  quite  as  interesting-  as  the  former.—  Godey's  Mag. 

The  first  two  Volumes  of  the  same  work  may  still  be 
had.     2  vols.  18mo,  Muslin.     62£  cents. 

&f)e  ©000  Genius  ttjctt  tttrneb  (ErDcrg  &l)ing 
into  (E>olo; 

Or,  the  Queen  Bee  and  the  Magic  Dress.  A  Christmas 
Fairy  Tale.  By  the  Brothers  Matthew.  Engravings. 
18mo,  Muslin,  gilt  edges,  45  cents  ;  Muslin,  plain,  37£ 
cents  ;  Fancy  paper  covers,  37$  cents. 

This  is  a  most  charming  little  fairy  tale,  written  with  singular  beauty 
and  spirit,  and  inculcating  the  duty  of  industry. 

©moo;  or,  a  Narratiue  of  &ot)entnrcs  in 
tt)e  Sontl)  Seas. 

By  H.  Melville.  12mo,  Muslin,  $1  25  ;  Paper,  $1  00. 
Musing  the  other  day  over^ur  matinal  hyson,  we  suddenly  found  our- 
selves in  the  entertaining  society  of  Marquesan  Melville,  the  phamix  of 
modern  voyagers,  sprung,  it  would  seem,  from  the  mingled  ashes  of  Cap- 
tain Cook  and  Robinson  Crusoe.  The  title  signifies  a  rover;  the  book 
is  excellent,  quite  first-rate.— Blackwood. 

Cife  of  ittaoame  Catharine  &borna. 

Including  some  leading  Facts  and  Traits  in  her  Religious 
Experience.  Together  with  Explanations  and  Re- 
marks, tending  to  Illustrate  the  Doctrine  of  Holiness. 
By  T.  C.  Upham,  D.D.  12mo,  Muslin,  gilt  edges,  60 
cents  ;  Muslin,  plain,  50  cents. 

This  is  a  very  curious  piece  of  biography  ;  the  sources  from  which  it 
has  been  principally  derived  were  the  manuscript  notes  of  Madame  Ador- 
na's  confessor,  Marabolti.  She  lived  during  the  latter  half  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  and  was  a  remarkable  instance  of  exemplary  piety  and 
eminent  moral  worth.  The  story  of  her  life  presents  a  rare  and  highly 
interesting  chapter  in  the  records  of  religious  experience. 


6     Popular  Literature  Published  by  Harper  c\  Brothers. 

dCoroper's  fJoetical  tXJorks. 

Illustrated  by  Seventy-five  exquisite  Designs.  With  a 
Biographical  and  Critical  Introduction  by  Rev.  Thomas 

.  Dale.  2  vols.  8vo,  Turkey  Morocco,  gilt  edges,  $5  00  ; 
Imitation  Morocco,  gilt  edges,  $4  25 ;  Muslin,  gilt 
edges,  $3  75. 

Cowper  has  long  been  regarded  as  the  favorite  Christian  poet :  his 
muse  devoted  to  the  inculcation  of  the  domestic  virtues  and  the  sublime 
truths  of  religion,  will  ever  take  elevated  rank  among  the  great  classics 
of  the  language. 

£ife  of  tl)e  (Eljetmlier  Bajwrb. 

By  W.  Gilmore  Simms.  With  Engravings.  12mo,  Mus- 
lin.    $1  00. 

The  present  production  is  the  most  valuable  that  has  appeared  from 
the  pen  of  Mr.  Simms,  and  will  do  more  than  all  his  preceding  works  to 
establish  his  reputation.  It  displays  considerable  research  into  ths  his- 
tory of  the  period  to  which  it  relates,  and  is  clothed  with  all  the  fascina- 
tion which  beauty  of  style  and  chivalric  adventure  can  throw  around  it. 
— Literary  Register. 

$Ije  ^Discipline  of  Cife. 

8vo,  Paper.     25  cents 

This  work  is  intended  to  show  how  much  of  happiness  depends  on  self- 
discipline  ;  and  it  can  not  fail  to  place  the  authoress  in  the  first  rank  of 
female  novelists.  It  contains  passages  of  great  beauty  and  pathos,  evi- 
dently written  by  one  who  thinks  much  and  feels  deeply,  and  impresses 
us  with  a  high  idea  of  the  talent  of  the  author. — Britannica. 

Since  Miss  Austin  ceased  to  write,  and  Mrs.  Marsh  began,  we  have 
had  no  other  story-telling  of  its  class  that  we  would  place  upon  a  level 
with  this  for  freshness  and  truth  of  love  and  feeling.—  London  Examiner. 

Urotljers  anb  Sisters. 

A  Tale  of  Domestic  Life.     By  Fredrika  Bremer.   Trans- 
lated  from   the  Original  unpublished  Manuscript,  by 
Mary  Howitt.     8vo,  Paper.     25  cents. 
•'  Brothers  and  Sisters"  will  share  in  the  popularity  the  author's  for- 
mer works  have  acquired,  as  it  possesses  the  like  qualities. — Chronicle. 

Ijarolb,  llje  Cast  of  tlje  Sa*ou  lungs. 

By  Sir  Edward  Bulwer  Lytton.     8vo,  Paper.     50  cents. 

A  splendid  effort,  combining  all  the  brilliancy  of  his  genius  with  the 
laborious  research  of  his  best  productions  ;  as  a  drama  of  real  life,  it  is 
perhaps  unsurpassed  by  any  similar  work  of  the  age. — Mirror. 


POPULAR  AMERICAN  WORKS 

FOR   FAMILY   READING, 

RECENTLY   PUBLISHED   BY  ' 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  NEW-YORK. 


I. 

FORECASTLE  TOM  ;  OR,  THE  LANDSMAN  TURNED  SAILOR. 

BY  MRS.  MARY  S.  B.  DANA.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37J  cents. 

A  delightful  little  domestic  story,  which  commends  itself  strongly  to 
the  attention  of  the  reader  by  its  unaffected  simplicity.  It  inculcates 
morality,  religion,  and  temperance,  in  a  most  attractive  manner. — Balti- 
more American. 

This  is  a  very  ielightful  moral  story,  portraying  the  adventures  of  a 
sailor's  li  e,  and  that  change  of  heart  which  fits  the  voyager  on  the  tem- 
pestuous ocean  of  this  world's  hopes  to  moorhis  bark  finally  in  the  haven 
of  eternal  rest.  There  is  much  instruction  as  well  as  interesting  narra- 
tive to  be  found  in  these  pages. — North  American. 

II. 

THE  YOUNG  SAILOR.    A  NARRATIVE  FOUNDED  ON  FACT. 

BY  MRS.  MARY  S.  B.  DANA.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37J  cents. 

This  is  a  story  of  no  ordinary  interest,  consisting  of  a  series  of  perilous 
adventures,  depicting  crime  and  its  consequences  with  a  skill  at  once  ar- 
tistical  and  powerful,  and  portraying  the  sweet  influences  of  Christianity 
in  all  their  beauty  and  loveliness.  A  parent  could  scarcely  find  a  more 
instructive  tale  for  his  children,  and  young  men  might  derive  influences 
from  its  perusal  that  would  save  them  many  a  heartache. — Auburn  Jour* 
nal. 

III. 

AYEARWITH   THE   FRANKLINS;  OR,  TO  SUF- 
FER  AND   BE   STRONG. 

BY  E.  JANE  GATE.— 18mo,  musliu  gilt. 
IV. 

ELIZABETH    BENTON;    OR,    RELIGION    IN    CONNECTION 
WITH  FASHIONABLE  LIFE. 

18mo,  muslin  gilt. 


POPULAR    AMERICAN    WORKS 


PHILANTHROPY;  OR,  MY  MOTHER'S  BIBLE. 

A    NARRATIVE   FOUNDED    ON    AN    INCIDENT    WHICH    HAPPEN** 
IN    NEW-YORK. 

18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37i  cents. 

'  Exceedingly  well  adapted  to  impress  the  minds  of  youth  witn  senti- 
jaents  of  morality  and  a  love  of  virtue.  The  author  has  most  happily 
blended  simple  but  thrilling  incidents  with  escellent  religious  princi- 
ples and  motives,  in  a  manner  which  can  not  fail  to  recommend  the  work 
to  public  favor. — Evening  Gazette. 

VI. 

THE  BLIND   GIRL,  AND   OTHER  TALES. 

BY  EMMA  O.   EMBURY.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37J  cents 

A  hook  which  will  absorb  with  its  touching  interest,  and  the  reader 
will  find  profit  combined  with  the  pleasure,  for  none  can  peruse  the*e 
tales  without  acknowledging  the  force  of  the  teachings  they  inculcate.— 
Evening  Gazette. 

Vlf. 

ISABEL;    OR,    TRIALS    OF    THE    HEART.     A 
TALE   FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37  J  cents. 
VIII. 

THE  TWIN  BROTHERS;  OR,  LESSONS  OF  CHARITY. 

18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37£  cents. 

The  story  contained  in  this  book  abounds  with  interesting  incidents  to 
keep  the  attention  awake,  and  suggests  many  important  lessons  to  rewardfl 
a  diligent  perusal.  There  is  a  simplicity  and  truthfulness  about  thw 
characters  which  beguiles  the  reader  into  an  impression  that  he  is  occu- 
pied with  a  narrative  of  veritable  facts.  It  teaches  the  young,  in  a  most 
persuasive  manner,  the  importance  of  right  principles  of  action,  and 
shows  them  the  extreme  danger  of  ever  beginning  to  wander  from  the 
path  of  honor  and  integrity. — Evangelist. 

IX. 

KEEPING    HOUSE    AND    HOUSEKEEPING.     A 
STORY  OF   DOMESTIC   LIFE. 

EDITED  BY  MRS.  S.  J.  HALE.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37J  cenu 


FOR    FAMILY    READING.  3 

X. 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  A   HOUSEKEEPER. 

BY  MRS.  C.  GILMAN.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  45  cents. 
XI. 

THE  MAYFLOWER;   OR,  SKETCHES  OF  SCENES  AND   IN- 
CIDENTS AMONG  THE  DESCENDANTS  OF  THE  PILGRIMS. 

BY  MRS.  HARRIET  B.  STOWE.— 18mo,  muslin  gilt,  45  ce»U. 

A  series  of  beautiful  and  deeply  interesting  tales,  remarkable  for  a 
rigorous  yet  disciplined  imagination,  a  lively  and  pure  style,  and  their 
high  moral  tone.  They  are  books  which  will  interest  mature  readers  as 
well  as  children  and  youth.  As  an  author  she  will  take  her  place  among 
that  fine  and  elevated  class  to  which  Miss  Sedgwick  and  Mrs.  Child  be- 
long;  authors  whose  writings  unite  with  the  graces  of  composition  a 
deep  sympathy  with  all  that  is  human,  and  a  noble  philanthropy. — Bib- 
lical Repository. 

XII. 

CONQUESTAND  SELF-CONQUEST j  OR,  WHICH 
MAKES  THE   HERO? 

18mo,  muslin  gilt,  37£  cents. 

An  admirable  volume  ;  admirable  in  style,  in  sentiment,  and  in  ten 
dency. —  Courier  and  Enquirer. 

XIII. 

THE   COUSINS.     A  TALE   OF   EARLY   LIFE. 

By  the  Author  of  "  Conquest  and  Self-Conquest."— 18mo,  37£  cents. 

We  have  read  this  volume-frith  unmingled  satisfaction.  It  is  replete 
with  instruction,  not  only  for  the  young,  but  for  all  who  are  concerned 
to  know  and  judge  their  motives  of  life.  We  thank  the  author  for  her 
nice  and  interesting  discriminations  between  the  motives  of  conduct. 
Indeed,  we  do  not  know  of  any  works  of  this  description  from  the  Amer- 
ican press  which  are  entitled  to  a  more  just  popularity  than  those  which 
have  proceeded  from  the  pen  of  this  writer.  They  place  her  beside  the 
Edgeworths,  and  the  Barbaulds,  and  the  Opies,  who  have  so  long  delight 
ed  and  instructed  our  children  and  us.— New-  York  Observer. 

XIV. 

PRAISE  AND  PRINCIPLE;  OR,  FOR  WHAT  SHALL  I  LIVE? 

By  the  Author  of  "  Conquest  and  Self-Conquest."— 18mo,  37J  cents. 

A  book  most  worthy  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  youth  engaged  in  thei» 
educational  course,  and  can  not  but  inspire  the  love  of  truth  and  good 
ness  for  their  own  sakes. —Biblical  Repository. 

This  little  work  is  designed  to  inculcate  upon  the  minds  of  youth  th» 
importance  of  a  steadfast  adherence  to  principle  in  the  concerns  of  life 
and  among  "  children  of  a  larger  growth"  its  perusal  may  afford  botk 
pleasure  and  improvement.— Bedford  Mercury. 


fjcirper's  Ncto  Catalogue. 

A  new  Descriptive  Catalogue  of  Harper  &  Brotm 
brs'  Publications  is  now  ready  for  distribution,  and  may 
be  obtained  gratuitously  on  application  to  the  Publishers 
personally,  or  by  letter,  post-paid. 

The  attention  of  gentlemen,  in  town  or  country,  designing 
to  form  Libraries  or  enrich  their  literary  collections,  is  re- 
spectfully invited  to  this  Catalogue,  which  will  be  found  to 
comprise  a  large  proportion  of  the  standard  and  most  es- 
teemed works  in  English  Literature — comprehending  about 
two  thousand  volumes — which  are  offered  in  most  instan- 
ces at  less  than  one  half  the  cost  of  similar  productions  in 
England. 

To  Librarians  and  others  connected  with  Colleges, 
Schools,  etc.,  who  may  not  have  access  to  a  reliable  guide 
in  forming  the  true  estimate  of  literary  productions,  it  is  ue- 
Meved  the  present  Catalogue  will  prove  especially  valuable 
as  a  manual  of  reference. 

To  prevent  disappointment,  it  is  suggested  that,  when- 
over  books  can  not  be  obtained  through  any  bookseller  or 
local  agent,  applications  with  remittance  should  be  ad- 
dressed direct  to  the  Publishers,  which  will  be  promptly  at 
tended  «.o 


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